Do Vampires Have Hearts
by The Jasper Raven
Summary: [HIATUS] Following the return of the immortal Uchiha brothers, Konoha is ravaged with a series of brutal murders. Swept up in the chaos are countless lives, left in upheaval by a terrible secret from a lifetime long since past. [ItaSasu][Possible NaruSasu][Multiple pairings]
1. PROLOGUE Night of the Hunter

_**-Do Vampires Have Hearts-**_

_~Prologue~_

* * *

Pray to your god / Open your heart / Whatever you do don't be afraid of the dark / Cover your eyes / The devil is I

* * *

_The pain was like a thousand thorns, spearing into every pore on his skin all at once. It hurt enough just laying still. He couldn't comprehend what it would feel like to move – to even breathe. He was afraid to look anywhere but above him. He was afraid to _see_ the blood he felt, plastered against his back – his neck. How could this have happened? Why did he do this to him?_

_ He said that he loved him._

_ Bang. The noise was of the bedroom door being broken open. The breath he was barely taking strangled in his throat in terror. He was afraid to see who it was – afraid that it was him, back to do even worse than he already had. He heard screaming and then his gaze was blotted with those horrible, red eyes. His scream came out in a broken, gurgled sound, the vulgar, metallic taste of blood painting his tongue. It hurt too much to try and get away._

_ The crimson irises were trapped in tears. Words tried to enter his ears but, all he heard was a frantic hum. His heart beat in a wild frenzy, begging him to move – to run away. He couldn't scream as he felt hands in his hair. He couldn't fight, he couldn't plead for mercy. Those eyes of scarlet raced with guilt and closed in regret. Then his head lowered to his neck._

_ The Devil's lips kissed his blood-stained skin and his teeth dove into his veins. His torn body jerked once at the contact and he was frozen. All the hurt drained from his skin with grueling slowness. The violent fire of his wounds was replaced with frost. He felt it settle over his skin and melt into his blood. As his eyes fell shut against the white canvas of the ceiling, he knew he was finally dead._

_ All the while, his killer sobbed, his tears mixed with the garnet betrayal on the bed sheets. They died together that night._

* * *

One night of the hunter / One day I will get revenge / One night to remember / One day it'll all just end


	2. CHAPTER 1 Supermassive Black Hole

**~Chapter I~**

_~Supermassive Black Hole~_

* * *

_Oh baby, don't you know I suffer / Oh baby, can you hear me moan / You caught me under false pretenses / How long before you let me go_

* * *

"Hey. It's me again. I just wanted you to know that I forgive you. No matter what you do, you're always going to be my girl. You know I've always cared about you more than anyone else. So, what do you say we go have fun at the Halloween dance and just forget this whole thing ever happened, alright?"

It didn't get much lower than this, he thought, standing in the boy's bathroom, staring at his reflection in silent solitude. You knew you were desperate when you had to resort to talking to your own image and pretending it was someone else. Naruto found he'd been doing that more often than he used to.

Naruto led a pretty dysfunctional life. Things had never been easy for him, especially when it came to relationships. He'd been on and off with the same girl for about three years. Two weeks ago they'd broken up for the…thirtieth time? He couldn't even keep count anymore. He sighed at his memories of the girl. Haruno Sakura was one of the most beautiful girls in the world – at least that's what he thought. She wasn't however, one of the most loyal. Whenever they broke up – and this last one was no exception – it was always because he found out she was cheating on him – this time with two guys. And yet…he still missed being with her.

Pretending his reflection was Sakura was a lot easier than talking to her face to face. Whenever he tried to talk to her he always got tongue-tied and sounded like an idiot, especially after the drama that had occurred with her. She already thought he was a total loser – why else would she try so hard to have anyone _but _him?

Why was he so desperate for her still? It had confused many of his friends and still confused himself. He was in love with her. That was the only thing he could think of. The only reason he wanted oh so badly to be with her again.

He sighed, scrutinizing his unruly reflection. He'd lost sleep dreaming about her again last night; the evidence sat in heavy brown bags beneath his blue eyes, dull with grief. No wonder she didn't like him – he always looked like a mess, especially with his wild blond hair and horrible fashion sense. Smoothing down his black shirt and popping the collar on his favorite orange jacket, Naruto shouldered his matching backpack and abandoned the restroom like he was trying to sneak away from the scene of a crime.

It was another uneventful day in Konoha: a small town; the kind of town that no one really knew existed. Nothing exciting ever happened there and personally, Naruto liked it that way. Occasionally, on really boring days, he would wish for something worth talking about but, for the most part, Naruto liked his life the way it was…aside from his desperate rants to an imaginary ex-girlfriend in the mirror. He escaped to the cafeteria of the high school, with the lunch lines bursting and students chattering away at their claimed tables. He went to join his own little group of buddies, clearing his mind of his previous talk with his own reflection to perform his "perfectly okay" façade for his friends.

"What's happening?" he asked his assembled friends with his usual false cheer.

Inuzuka Kiba – the brunette animal rights activist that was as loyal as a man's dog - was the first to answer with, "Gossip. Every other thing I've heard today is about some people buying the 'Haunted Mansion.'"

"Who would want to buy that piece of crap?" Naruto asked, skillfully immersing himself in the conversation.

Lee, being the history geek he was, was, of course, the first to jump to the old house's defense.

"Naruto, you shouldn't say such things! The Sarutobi Mansion has been a part of Konoha for decades! There is so much history inside of it! Think of all the great kings of Konoha that have slept in that house! Ah, it's so magnificent!"

Waterfalls fell from Lee's eyes. Apparently "the thought of the historic value of the house" was so beautiful to Lee that it brought tears to his eyes. Well…that's what he'd told them anyway. Lee was a history junkie (among many other things) so, of course, he considered the old mansion "special" but, every one else in Konoha just called it the "Haunted Mansion on Raiden Hill."

The last person in the Sarutobi family had died a long time ago and had left the mansion empty and uninhabited. Mayor Tsunade requested (more commanded) that the mansion be left standing. She never explained why (and no one would dare question her about it). Over the years, the lawn became a forest of weeds, the shingled roof was like flaking skin, the painted walls were chipped and cracked, and the windows and doors had been boarded up. No one had seen the inside of it but, from the outside it looked like a true haunted mansion, thus attracting the locals' fondness for crappy nicknames.

"Come back to reality Lee," Kiba taunted. "Konoha never had a king. If we did, we would be on the map as a historical town or something."

"So someone bought it huh?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Shikamaru spoke up from across the table, fingering potato chips - grudgingly provided by his best friend, Choji - into his mouth as he answered. "A couple of rich brothers from the South I hear."

"M-my father…" Hinata stuttered from beside him. "He's heard about them. Apparently their family…has a very long history and their descended from royalty."

"And yet they still moved into the crappiest house in town," Kiba snorted. "They may have money but, they don't have brains."

Naruto quietly thought about it – it was a welcome topic change for his angst-ridden head. He didn't see why anyone would want to move to Konoha, no matter the house. Maybe they were geeks like Lee who thought the mansion was of historic value. Maybe they were ghost hunters and wanted to search a haunted house for spirits. Naruto smiled to himself at his own joke: a pair of ghost-hunting brothers huh? Yeah right.

* * *

The next day, no one could shut up at school. It was no secret that there were two new kids in Konoha High. It was also no secret that they were the same people that now owned the Haunted Sarutobi Mansion. Naruto didn't see these two newcomers until the five minute break between the end of fourth period and the beginning of fifth. The hallway was filled to the brim, as usual, with clusters of gossiping, giggling girls, and wrestling boys. All were discussing the same thing.

He politely pushed his way through one of the groups to get to his locker. He didn't notice at first the hush that was falling over the hallway as he took his books from his locker. Then he heard a pair of girls close by whisper, "It's them. It's the Uchiha brothers!"

_How could they possibly be high school students? _Naruto had been thinking all day. _How could they own a whole mansion and still be going to school?_

At any rate, he was still intrigued to get a good glimpse of the guys, just like everyone else. He quietly shut his locker, so as not to break the sudden silence. He followed everyone else's heads until he was looking down the hall at a pair of stunning boys.

The first thing about them that caught Naruto's attention was their eyes. Even from all the way down the hallway, Naruto could see that they were onyx black. It was the first time he had seen eyes that color. He also noticed that their skin was as white as a full moon and they both had midnight black hair. The younger's hair almost looked blue in the light while the elder's looked like the color of melting dark chocolate. They each wore all black, expensive looking clothes, a testament to the rumors of them being wealthy.

The older had a smile on his face that was neither happy nor evil. It gave Naruto the impression of a businessman that walked into a room and knew he could get a good deal. The younger looked much less relaxed. His eyes flickered here and there, analyzing every face it seemed. They stood close together, like they were serving as each other's body guard against…what, exactly? Naruto really couldn't tell. They were probably just nervous to be apart in a strange new place like this.

The hallway of students murmured as the two boys started down the hallway. Naruto was stunned when his fellow peers cleared a path for them. Usually no one would have done that for anyone. It made the two seem like royalty…Well, he supposed that wasn't really an understatement after all. The older boy kept his eyes forward and never looked anywhere but where he was going. The younger kept looking everywhere. He seemed to be listening to every whispered word among the student body and watching every flick of a prying eye.

The pair finally passed where Naruto was standing among the crowd. The younger, shy looking boy was closest to Naruto's side of the hallway. The boy's eyes flickered onto him and lingered there. Naruto could see depths of emotion in the onyx pools but, mostly he saw curiosity, shyness, and a hint of fear. Naruto guessed he was afraid of getting lost in his new school or not making any friends. The blond smiled at him and as soon as he did the eyes flickered away. Naruto wouldn't mind getting to know the stranger a little bit better. But then, the evil that was jealousy reared its ugly head.

Naruto recognized the slim, pink-dressed figure of his ex-girlfriend in a group of girls across the hallway. Her sharp green eyes were trained on the brothers like a cougar's upon its next meal. He could hear every girl plotting ways to get the new "hotties'" attentions but, her eyes were the most focused; most intent over all the others. He'd seen that look in action too many times. There was no stopping her when she wanted something that badly. His chest constricted in envy and possessiveness. Then, he squeezed his eyes shut and took a breath.

_No,_ he thought._ Don't let it ruin any chance you have of making friends with the guy. Give it a chance._

He glanced down the hallway where the two brothers had gone. They had vanished just before the bell for class rang.

* * *

A period had passed since Naruto had witnessed the Uchihas for the first time and no matter how hard he tried to make himself focus on the image of the boys' faces, he still kept seeing Sakura's. Why did she never look at him that way? Why was everyone always so much better to her than him?

"Hey Naruto!"

The call brought him to a halt and he shuffled to the hallway wall so as not to block the traffic flow moving to the next class. He craned his head over the rustling bodies of his peers and spotted Kiba weaving his way through them to reach him.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked of his friend when the boy finally reached him. "You don't take this route to your next class."  
"I was on my way to deliver some papers for Miss Yuhi," Kiba quickly answered, flapping his hand to wave it aside and signify that it was unimportant. "So, have you met Sasuke yet?"

"Who?"

"Oh, don't pretend you don't know," the brunette sighed, rolling his eyes. "He's the new kid, the one in our grade. The other one's Itachi; he's a senior."

"Yeah, yeah! I saw them once last period but, didn't talk to them or anything. You said Sasuke?"

"He's a decent guy actually. I got to talk to him in my last class."

"And you liked him? That's a first," Naruto chuckled – Kiba didn't make friends _that_ easily.

"He was nice to Lee," he replied. "I gave him brownie points for that."

"Do tell."

"Well, you know how Lee gets," - Naruto snorted at that - "He got really excited that Sasuke was in our class, since he loves that old house so much. I tried to stop him from going into one of his rants to the guy but…"

"There was no stopping him," Naruto said over him, nodding resignedly. "I know."

"I was afraid Uchiha would be an ass like everyone else is to Lee and flick him aside like he was some sort of bug but, he was really cool about it. I mean he didn't talk down to him or _pretend _to be friendly; he was really honest about it. He answered all of Lee's questions and treated him like his equal. Usually, guys that look like the Uchihas walk into a place and stomp over everyone but, Sasuke really proved me wrong last period. He seems like a good guy."

Naruto smiled, shaking his head in disbelief. So Lee made a new friend, huh? And with the new guy in his favorite house no less. He had to admit, he was shocked. As Kiba had said, he wouldn't have expected someone as wealthy and good-looking as Sasuke to get along with a geeky, babbler like Lee.

"If he has yours and Lee's seals of approval, then I really hope I get to meet him soon."

"I hope so. You'll love him Naruto; I'm sure of it. You guys will get along great."

* * *

"So! Sasuke, Itachi, how did your first day go?"

"It went quite well actually Miss Ayame," Itachi replied, as regal looking as ever, even in as shabby a seat as the one the guidance office sported.

"And you Sasuke?"

The younger glanced, briefly, at their new guidance counselor, thoughts clearly elsewhere when he smiled and nodded to her. A smirk found its way upon Itachi's lips, rather involuntarily, making the woman glance between them, curiously. Being a counselor, she was trained to be perceptive but, she wondered if she had missed some joke in the last five seconds that had birthed that smile on Itachi's handsome face.

"That's great!" she trilled, quickly moving past whatever it was. "Do you think you'll enjoy your classes?"

"Very much," Itachi answered again, bringing her full attention onto him again.

"I understand you're in the senior Honors courses, Itachi. You're sure it won't be too difficult for you?"

"Absolutely not," he replied immediately, the strength in his voice making her jump in her seat a little. "It would be more difficult if I was in a lower class."

"Oh, alright…And you Sasuke?" she queried, clearing her throat when she felt her voice shaking. "You have a few Honors classes too, don't you?"

"English, history, and science," he replied quickly, foot tapping in impatience.

Itachi quickly put a stop to it before Miss Ayame noticed, placing his foot over his. Sasuke glanced at him, his brother still smiling at the guidance counselor.

"Did you two make any friends yet?" she tried again, not believing for one second that their day had gone by so smoothly.

"Not yet, no," Itachi answered, easily, before he realized Sasuke had not answered similarly.

He glanced at his brother whom Ayame found equally interesting at the moment. Sasuke glanced between the two stares, lingering on Itachi's intense one.

"Possibly," he answered Ayame and that was all he answered with.

She blinked once, obviously dazed and confused.

"If that's all Miss Ayame," Itachi said, rising to his feet without her consent.

"O-Oh yes, you may go…"

They were both out the door before she finished her sentence.

* * *

"Possibly?"

Sasuke glanced at his brother, stalking beside him like a fearsome black panther as they exited the school. His eyes narrowed at the intense and demanding look his brother gave him.

"Yes. Possibly," he replied.

"Possibly who?" Itachi demanded more than asked of him before he finished his answer.

"Is it really any of your business?"

"Yes. It really is a lot of my business."

"Since when?"

"Since we got here."

"I hope you realize you are not my father."

"I hope you realize that _I'm _the older brother."

They crossed the parking lot from the school's steps to their car parked beneath the autumn trees, steps getting swifter and swifter with each retort and rebuttal. A few stray teachers, bustling to their cars, gave them curious glances but, were in too much of a hurry to stop them. The two frustrated brothers split to go on either side of the car, Itachi claiming the driver's seat and Sasuke taking the front passenger's seat. Each slammed their doors shut, tossing their backpacks to the car floor.

While Sasuke stretched around in search of his seatbelt, his quick, searching gaze did a sweep of the surrounding street, school, and parking lot. No passing cars, no rushing people, no one to see. Sasuke spun around, instantly abandoning the search for his seatbelt, and clutched Itachi's shirt in his hands, tackling him into the backseat, making the entire car rock. Laughter perfumed the air as both brothers kissed and embraced each other.

"I forgot how good of an actor you were," Itachi chuckled, arms winding their way around the boy on top of him. "You really had me convinced."

"It wasn't entirely an act," Sasuke sighed, resting his arms upon Itachi's shoulders and crossing his wrists behind his head.

"So you really are mad at me," Itachi gathered, blinking in mock shock.

"Yes Itachi. I hate you. You made me go to school. That's unforgivable," Sasuke hissed.

"By all means, punish me. But, remember, _you're _the one that wanted to come back and be all normal."

"I know," Sasuke groaned. "I just forgot how much I _hate _school."

"Every sixteen-year-old hates school."

"The problem is I'm not sixteen."

"You certainly look it."

"Why?" Sasuke whined. "You just couldn't wait until I was twenty, could you?"

"Excuse me?" Itachi laughed, raising an accusing brow. "If you do recall, _you're _the one that was _so desperate _for it to happen right then and there. You're the one that couldn't wait."

"That was over three hundred years ago. You honestly expect me to remember? You could be making that up."

"If you can't remember, then maybe you should stop bragging about your 'photographic memory.'"

Sasuke cocked his head to the side, pouting at how his companion caught him in the headlights like that.

"Why'd you have to be the smart one?" the younger of the two mumbled, turning his gaze to the seat fabric behind Itachi's head where his pale fingers toyed with a dark strand of hair.

"Because if I wasn't, you wouldn't be so attracted to me," Itachi answered with a smirk.

"I doubt that," Sasuke replied, maneuvering closer. "There are plenty of things about you that I find positively enticing…although I do love when you talk all Einstein-like."

Itachi chuckled, grasping the other's raven spikes and pulling him in for a prolonged kiss.

"Speaking of our favorite scientist," Itachi went on, not winded in the slightest when he pulled away from Sasuke's rapidly increasing kisses. "Was it in science class that you met your possible friend?"

Sasuke groaned in irritation against the other's mouth and pulled back, glaring at him for bringing the former hot topic up again.

"You picked up on that, huh?"

"Well, you said it wasn't _entirely _an act and you're _clearly _not mad at me so…"

"It was actually in history class. Whether I want to or not, I'll probably _have _to be this kid's 'friend.'" (His fingers made air quotes around the word "friend.")

"And this 'friend's' name is…?" Itachi asked, mimicking the air quotes.

"I don't remember."

"Yes you do."

Sasuke glared at him. Itachi simply continued to smile.

"Rock Lee and Inuzuka Kiba," he admitted, boredly.

"There were two?" Itachi asked, brows rising.

"Not necessarily," Sasuke reassured. "Kiba was mainly on the outskirts of the conversation but, Lee would _not shut up _about our house. He kept asking all these stupid questions about the place. It felt like I was getting permission to marry his daughter or something. It was ridiculous!"

"I'm sorry you had to suffer that," Itachi chuckled. "You know no one's forcing you to stick with him, right?"

"I know," Sasuke said with a shrug, toying with the collar of Itachi's shirt. "But, they're good kids and I wouldn't mind having someone to talk to when I'm not with you."

The car suddenly fell into solemn silence as they stared at one another. Neither one moved, both remaining exceptionally still, as if they were an unmoving sculpture molded from the upholstery. Sasuke's eyes saddened during this silence and Itachi's hand, moving to stroke his cheek, broke the unnatural stillness.

"I missed you today," Sasuke whispered, closing his eyes and pressing into his brother's comforting hand.

"Can I make it up to you?"

"Possibly."

Itachi smirked in amusement and Sasuke smiled as well, reopening his eyes to gaze at him.

"I have a surprise for you."

"Ooh! You know how much I love those!" Sasuke exclaimed, instantly excited. "What is it? Where is it?"

Like an eager, young colt searching for a treat, Sasuke pulled and pried at his brother's clothes, leaving no pocket untouched. Itachi chuckled the entire time, a dark and lyrical sound that never ceased to stir the very core of the younger's being.

"It's not here. It's at home."

Instantaneously and without any visible movement, Sasuke was back in the passenger's seat, buckled in and ready to go. Rolling his eyes, a smile on his face, Itachi made a similar transition and began to drive.

* * *

"Slow down would you?" Itachi laughed as he raced Sasuke to the front door of their ancient house.

Itachi caught up to him from behind, quickly covering Sasuke's eyes with his hands.

"_Hurry up_!" Sasuke replied equally giddy.

Itachi maneuvered around his companion to unlock the chipped front door, always keeping his arm over his eyes. The door, littered with splinters, moaned open into a large, front room, decked in cobwebs and coated in dust. The original colors were lost beneath the wispy gray particles. A tall staircase loomed on the far side of the wide lobby.

In the snap of one's fingers, the two were up the stairs and beyond the many other flights after it, flashing through the winding halls and long corridors, softly stirring up the settled dust. Itachi reined his excited brother in before a rather large, mahogany door that was very noticeably brand new in the aged house.

"Ready?" Itachi asked, lips pressed against Sasuke's ear.

"Quit stalling! What is it?"

Chuckling, happily, Itachi pushed the shiny new door open and let Sasuke free to see. The younger's breath stopped at the fantastic sight before him. The dark wood door opened up into a very large bedroom, built in the shape of a half circle. The far, rounded side of the room was glass and opened up in three spots through French doors to a long porch, stretching around the outside of the room.

The room itself contained a floor that was thinly carpeted in dark red. The rest of the walls that weren't glass were made of dark brown wood. Framed paintings and photos were lined, perfectly straight, against it. There was a mini bar on the left side of the room and on the right was another door that led into a closet. The main focus of the room was the large, exquisite piece of furniture in the center. It was a large bed with a frame that was made of the same, mahogany wood as the doors. Carved in the headrest were many twisted and curved designs but, in the center, they all wound into a large rose in full bloom. The blankets were crimson and the many pillows varied in shades of red and black.

"Do you like it?" Itachi asked as Sasuke soaked it all in, sliding his arms around the slim waist of his brother.

"When did you do this?" Sasuke asked in awe.

"I snuck out of lunch today."

"Wow. You can see the sky and everything!"

Sasuke flitted to the far window side, looking out at the fire-painted sky in wonder. There was a perfect view of the dense forests populating the house's backyard. They were on the top floor and far away from the small road that ran across the front of their home. All there was for a view was vast wilderness. Smiling, Itachi followed at a more human pace to join his companion at the window.

"It's beautiful Itachi," Sasuke said, turning around and squeezing his hand, a delighted smile upon his pale features. "Thank you."

"I thought we deserved our own room, one that isn't still gripping the past. It'll help jump-start us into this new life."

Saying so, he led Sasuke over to the mini bar, grasping a crystal flask of a dark red liquid and pouring it into two tall, fine wine glasses. Itachi turned to Sasuke, handing him a glass and raising his.

"To new beginnings," he said dark eyes soft as he gazed at his younger brother.

"To new beginnings," Sasuke reciprocated, touching his glass to Itachi's.

They then wound their arms together and drank, gazing at the other with rejoicing smiles upon their faces. As the liquid drenched their throats, their eyes began to change, turning the same blood red color as the beverage within the wine glasses.

* * *

_You set my soul alight / Glaciers melting in the dead of night / And the superstars sucked into the super massive / Supermassive black hole_


	3. CHAPTER 2 Teenagers

**~Chapter II**~

_~Teenagers~_

* * *

_The boys and girls in the clique / The awful names that they stick / You're never gonna fit in much kid / But if you're troubled and hurt / What you got under your shirt / Will make them pay for the things that they did_

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

A frustrated moan emerged from the tangle of bed sheets in response to the blaring alarm clock. A tan hand flopped onto the bedside table, slamming around for the off button. The teen sighed in relief at the silence following the click of said button beneath his tired hand. Naruto forced himself into a sitting position upon his messy bed, spiky blond hair tousled into an even bigger mess than originally. He let out a heavy huff, bleary eyes looking around the small apartment… for what? He did not know. Perhaps it was a reason to get out of bed.

It was Wednesday, he realized when his glazed over gaze drifted over the calendar pinned to the wall near his head. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head while he waited for it to come to him. Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday. What was so important about Wednesday? It was a weekday so…ah! That was it! He had to go to school! Fun!

Groaning in irritation at this dreadful fact, Naruto swung his legs out of bed and prepared to enter another lonely morning, overseen by the silent faces of his parents trapped in a picture frame on the table. Every time he woke up in the morning, he always saw that smiling photo (it being beside the alarm clock he always attacked), and it always reminded him why he was really getting out of bed every day.

* * *

It was on the verge of awakening from a black (unnecessary) slumber that Itachi reached for his dearest brother. Eyelids brushed open as if from blinking instead of from sleep when the eldest of the brothers did not find what he sought. He lay, still as a corpse, and listened to the miniscule sound of wind whispering tenderly through silky locks outside. A smile played fondly about his lips and he swiftly arrived to the glass door already opened up to the porch.

Sasuke did not turn to greet him, continuing to gaze out at the sunlit forests from the balcony. A silent sigh of content escaped the older man's lips as he gazed, unblinking, at the back of his brother, midnight eyes soaking in the breath-taking figure. Rays of rising sun licked fire into Sasuke's dark hair and prominently outlined his serene smile. Itachi never got sick of seeing that.

"Did you forget where the porch was?" the lyrical voice from the boy's lips asked. "That's the longest it's taken you to cross a threshold."

Itachi chuckled, making the transition from the doorway to the porch railing where his brother stood, as still and stoic as a perfectly sculpted mannequin.

"You're up awfully early," he stated, hugging the other against his chest.

"I wanted to see the sunrise," Sasuke replied with a smile, continuing to gaze at the passionately red horizon. "It would be our first one we woke up to in our new room."

"Always my sappy romantic," Itachi sighed, propping his head on top of Sasuke's to join in his sky-watching. "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Mmmm," Sasuke hummed in reply, entranced by the peaceful moment, the sky melting from one color to the next as the minutes started to pass by. "I'm glad we're back."

"Yeah. Me too."

* * *

It was only when he stepped onto those huge, yellow monsters that Naruto remembered why he hated buses. They were loud, hot, rocky, stinky, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And it was only when said vehicle pulled up in front of the school that Naruto really wished he could drive. He would be nearing that age soon. He had just turned sixteen and permit tests were already being offered.

When Naruto stepped off the bus, his thoughts about vehicles and driving instantly went out the window. He did this daily. He thought about the same things at the same time everyday. Such rambling, worthless thoughts prevented him from wallowing in his sorrow for his lost parents.

His father and mother had been in Europe when they vanished from his life six years ago. The two of them had been archaeologists and had traveled a lot, bringing Naruto along with them. He'd called many of the places they visited his home but, his birthplace had always been Konoha. He had been in this town when his parents disappeared. They had left him at behind that time, under the always wandering eye of his lecherous godfather. When the news arrived that they had vanished, he'd been abandoned to foster care until he was thirteen and escaped to live on his own. For the past five years he had been searching for clues to unravel the mystery of their disappearance.

"Naruto. Naruto? Naruto!"

The blond in question was frightened out of his remembrance. He snapped around in the suffocating hallway to face the one addressing him.

"Shikamaru! Hinata! Hey!"

"Are you out of it this morning or what?" Shikamaru laughed, good-naturedly.

"Sorry. I didn't hear you - loud hallways," Naruto half-lied, scratching the back of his head, sheepishly.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, yawning in the process. Naruto turned to smile at the quiet girl beside his friend.

"Hey Hinata. How's it going?"

She glanced up, somewhat nervously, and gave him her standard, shy smile.

"Good morning N-Naruto. A-Are you going to the dance with us on Friday?"

"Uh, yeah! For Halloween? Of course! If there's one thing this school's good at, it's throwing a dance party! We're all going together right? The six of us?"

He'd decided yesterday to abandon his hopeless dream of getting back with Sakura, even if only for one night. It wasn't possible, he was sure of it. That didn't mean he had to miss out on Halloween though, so he'd made up his mind just to go the dance with his friends – he loved them just as much anyway.

"Seven."

Naruto stared at Shikamaru, drawing up many question marks at his correction.

"I'm pretty sure Lee's going to want to bring the new kid along."

"You mean Uchiha Sasuke?" he asked, feeling like he was missing out on some huge inside joke. "Are you serious?"

"Since yesterday," Hinata began, hesitantly. "Lee's been dragging him around, introducing him to all of us."

"It's been a while since Lee made a new friend," Shikamaru continued with a lazy shrug. "You can expect to see Sasuke around a lot more."

"Naruto, Lee hasn't introduced Sasuke to you yet?" Hinata asked when she recognized the stunned expression on her friend's face.

He shook his head, unsure of how he felt about this news. He really had no reason to dislike Sasuke aside from the envy he held in regards to him. Naruto quickly tried to suppress the green feeling, knowing full well that judging before meeting was an awful mistake.

"I'm sure he didn't forget…" Hinata put in at Naruto's silence, thinking that he was perhaps upset that Lee had failed to acquaint him with the new boy.

"Oh! I know that!" Naruto laughed off, yet again. "We barely have any classes together. I don't blame him for not catching me during the day."

"Then what's the problem?" Shikamaru drawled, intuitive as ever.

"There is no problem," Naruto insisted. "It's like I've said before. I'm sure once I meet this guy, we'll be great friends."

* * *

Both Uchihas sighed in distress when they pulled into the high school parking lot. Sasuke gazed at his brother, pleading without words to not make him go in there. Itachi's response was a smirk, stating that it wasn't his idea to act out a normal life.

"Not one of my better ideas," Sasuke voiced, shouldering his backpack and exiting the vehicle.

"I wouldn't say that," Itachi argued as he followed. "There are lots of things benefiting from our being here."

"Like?"

"Our house, our room, your friends…"

"_Possible _friends," Sasuke corrected, receiving a chuckle from his brother. "Speaking of, have you made any acquaintances?"

"No, and I honestly don't intend to."

"You're not lonely during the day?" Sasuke asked, this time with genuine concern.

"Nonsense, I prefer to be by myself. I have more time to think."

The look he gave Sasuke - that which was smoldering and tender - added a silent "about you" to the end of his sentence. The younger smiled at this but, was still troubled that his brother didn't seek to make any friends. They arrived at their shared locker with ease, their infatuated peers constantly making sure they had a clear path to walk.

"How were your classes yesterday?" Sasuke asked, spinning through the combination, effortlessly, before popping the door open.

"As I expected," Itachi sighed, shifting his bag around in front of him to add the textbooks required for the day.

"Any you think will be favorites?"

"Possibly Chemistry. You?"

"English, I think. Least favorite?"

"History."

They said this in unison, laughing quietly, as they continued about packing their bags for the day. Sasuke reached for a textbook on the top shelf, fingers just barely missing it. Itachi was quick to get it for him, placing it into the open bag before he could object. Sasuke smiled up at him, the stretch of lips reciprocated, softly. The warning bell for first period interrupted them. The people around them quickly broke from their social groups and hurried to class.

"I'll see you later," Itachi said, giving Sasuke's shoulder a squeeze before departing.

It killed Sasuke inside that they couldn't kiss hello or good-bye like they always did. They had to be careful in such a place where they were already so well known as brothers. The young Uchiha sighed at the sudden loneliness he felt with his companion's departure. Softly closing the locker door, Sasuke ventured back into the sea of people, solemnly making his way to his first class of the day.

* * *

Naruto's mind usually wandered during class but, never as much as it did today. He wasn't really sure what he was thinking about. He assumed it was a hodge-podge of mixed thoughts about his past and his future. For some reason, he had been feeling haunted lately: by the mystery of his parents' disappearance, his bizarre feelings about Sakura, and his friendships. He focused more intently on the present when his dwelling thoughts on the past were beginning to depress him.

It all came zoned in on the new kid, Sasuke. Naruto wasn't going to lie to himself, he had it bad for Sakura and he was admittedly jealous that she was after Sasuke. Also, he felt uneasy about how Lee was allegedly getting along with him. He didn't buy it. Lee had been getting pushed around by the heartthrobs for a while. It was an unfortunate impulse Naruto had developed to be wary of such people, just by appearance.

Naruto didn't like the way his mind kept reeling about the Uchihas. He had always tried so hard to be accepting of everyone that came his way. Now, he felt that he was proving himself to be a hypocrite. He was judging the brothers before he even met them and, the worst part was, he was fully aware of it.

Naruto milled over all of his contradicting thoughts all through the first half of the day, up until lunch came around. He slid into his seat, greeting his assembled friends in turn.

"What's up? Where's Lee?"

"I'm sure he's not far," Shikamaru yawned, laying his head down at the table, preferring a nap in lunch over a meal.

The blond glanced at Kiba beside him for further clarification. The brunette chuckled to himself, shaking his head at some ridiculous joke it seemed, and it irritated Naruto that he wasn't in on it. He turned to Hinata across the table, seeking her wise guidance. She bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders, distressed that she couldn't give him an answer. He then proceeded to turn to his last resort. Choji sat near the end of the table, scarfing down all sorts of snacks and crap. Naruto abandoned the thought, immediately. Choji was the last person who would know anything about anyone.

"Well, someone's got to know where he is!"

No sooner had he voiced his irritation, did the wide-eyed boy appear in the cafeteria doorway. However, he was not alone. He had, gripped in his hand, the arm of the high school superstar himself, Uchiha Sasuke. A brief hush fell over the babbling students. Naruto could feel the atmosphere around him electrify with excitement and then, dull to confusion. He knew what they were thinking and he was wondering the same thing himself: What was a geek like Lee doing with someone as revered as Sasuke?

Oblivious to the stares and murmurs - as always - Lee pranced into the room, dragging an at ease Uchiha along with him.

"Hi guys!" he greeted the small group when he and Sasuke arrived at the table. "You've all met Sasuke right?"

Naruto's friends nodded, giving Sasuke greeting smiles and a few shy murmurs. Naruto instantly felt out of place, subconsciously shrinking into his seat.

"Let's see if I can remember names," Sasuke chuckled, the dark, liquid velvet sound sending tingles down Naruto's spine. "Kiba, Shikamaru…Hinata, Choji, and…"

The dark newcomer named each individual correctly and flawlessly until his striking gaze fell upon Naruto. He glanced up at Sasuke, who stared at him intently, making him feel even more uneasy. Once again, like the day prior, Naruto was entranced by those shocking black eyes. Again, there was a swarm of emotions swirling in the dark depths as he pondered the name.

"Oh my gosh!" Lee shouted, breaking the eye contact and pulling Sasuke around the table, seating him across from Naruto. "I can't believe I haven't introduced you yet! Sasuke, this is my very best friend, Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto, this is -"

"Uchiha Sasuke. I know."

A peculiar silence fell over the table at Naruto's curt interruption, his friends sending him worried glances as he gave a scrutinizing look to Sasuke. Noticeably, the Uchiha didn't seem to catch onto his abrupt tone. His pleasant smile remained in place and his posture remained lax but, Naruto picked up on the guarded look in his eyes all of a sudden. He mentally punched himself, repeatedly, at his present conduct. It wasn't right. Sasuke didn't deserve to be burdened with his disordered feelings. Thinking on his feet, Naruto quickly saved the introduction and his chance at getting to know Sasuke.

"Your reputation precedes you," he said, donning a clever smile.

"I have a reputation?" Sasuke laughed, easily, in return.

"You haven't been to this school. People make up rumors and they spread like wildfire. Be careful what you say. You might get burned with it later."

A breath of relief washed over the table as the two laughed at this. They went into their separate conversations with each other soon afterward, subconsciously leaving Naruto and Sasuke to get acquainted on their own.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Naruto."

"Likewise. So, what's it like being the new kid? You and your brother became awfully popular awfully fast."

"I can't imagine why," Sasuke chortled. "There's really nothing fascinating about me or Itachi. Sure, Itachi's smarter than most people his age but, otherwise, we're pretty average."

"You call moving into the most expensive and haunted house in Konoha average?"

Naruto asked it without any malice, simply fueling the light-hearted conversation, but, Sasuke's brow rose up in question.

"Haunted, you say?"

"Well, yeah. People have been calling the old Sarutobi place the 'Haunted Mansion on Raiden Hill' for decades! I mean, have you seen the place?"

"Yes."

A pause passed between the two and Naruto wasn't sure if he was waiting for Sasuke to elaborate or Sasuke was waiting for him to add something. Naruto did, however, get the impression that, perhaps, Sasuke knew more about the mansion than he was letting him believe…Or, it was the paranoia getting to him.

"Anyway," the blond went on. "Everyone in this town has their superstitions about the place. It's a lot different than most buildings around here. What's it like living there? Is it as creepy inside as it is outside?"

"It's not creepy," Sasuke defended, not snapping the words out but, not mincing them either. "It's a beautiful house. There's a lot of history behind it and it's an architectural masterpiece. I'm grateful to be staying in a house of such majesty."

It was here that Naruto could understand why Lee got along with this kid so well. They both loved that house. Naruto placed all of his unjustified suspicions aside, now more curious than anything else about the mysterious boy. He didn't get to open his mouth for another question though.

"Enjoying the lowlife dorks?"

Zaku and his partners in crime, Dosu and Kin, approached their table. It made Naruto's teeth clench how they always barged in, targeting them with their misplaced angst all the time. Ever since seventh grade, the three of them always beat them up and teased them. Zaku slammed his hand on the table, making some heads turn at the loud sound.

"What do you want?" Kiba asked, stiff in his seat as he glared at the older boy.

"I want a snack," Zaku hissed back, grabbing a recently opened bag of potato chips out of Choji's hands.

"Hey! That's mine!"

"Not any more," Zaku barked, munching on a chip. "Besides, it's not like you need it. You can't get much bigger."

"Watch it Zaku!" Shikamaru interjected, leaping to his feet in Choji's defense.

Naruto was beginning to get nervous. Choji and Shikamaru had been friends long before he had met them. It was only when Choji was targeted that Shikamaru "woke up." When he was "awake," it was hard to keep him from picking a fight.

"What are you going to do about it lazy ass?" Zaku retorted, handing the prized potato chips to Kin and getting up in Shikamaru's face.

Naruto felt the buzz of nervousness and thrill washing through the hushed cafeteria as everyone turned their attention to the inevitable fight.

"Shikamaru," he spoke up, hoping to dissuade him out of stooping to Zaku's level.

No one seemed to hear him because no one was paying attention to him. Everyone was focused on the two boys on their feet.

"Well? You gonna do anything lazy ass?" Zaku continued to taunt Shikamaru.

He pushed him back, roughly, making Kiba and Naruto rise to step in. Imagine their surprise when they found Sasuke, already on his feet, standing between the two.

"That's enough," he said to Zaku, eyes sharp and voice firm.

"Out of my way pretty boy!"

The older boy pushed Sasuke back, the latter stumbling against the table. The impact moved the table a little, the screeching of the legs on the floor making the gesture seem more than it was. A ripple of gasps went through the many spectators at how Zaku dared to go against their object of obsession. Sasuke remained on his feet, one hand clenching the table edge and making Naruto afraid of how he may respond. There was silence for a few moments, Sasuke's eyes closing in what seemed to be contemplation. What he was contemplating about, Naruto could not tell. It was not long before Sasuke reopened his eyes and stepped towards Zaku, looking much taller than he really was.

"It's time for you to go," the dark Uchiha said, the sound of his voice, so menacing and evil, turning Naruto's blood to ice.

"Who's gonna make me? You think you stand a chance pretty boy?"

Zaku raised his hand to make a move against Sasuke. However, before it could even form into a fist, Zaku's wrist was trapped in Sasuke's pale hand.

"What the hell? Let go of me you son of a bitch!"

Zaku tried to pull himself free but, the Uchiha stood rock solid, his gaze and grip not faltering in the slightest. His icy eyes pierced into Zaku's and Naruto watched as the boy's haughtiness ebbed away into fear.

"I said, it's time for you to go."

The tension in the air was smothering and no one could take their eyes off of Sasuke. If a look could kill, Naruto was sure the one Sasuke was giving Zaku would have left the bully mutilated. The blond wasn't sure how to describe the scene before him. The only thing he could remotely compare it to was a predator and its prey.

It didn't take long at all for the antagonist to succumb to the terror striking through him beneath the Uchiha's glare. He nodded his head, repeatedly, shaking all over and unable to speak. Sasuke released him and he scurried away, leaving his companions behind as he fled the cafeteria. Sasuke directed his frosty attention to Dosu and Kin. He stretched out his hand, making Kin flinch back in fright.

His midnight eyes bore into hers, the girl trembling like a leaf, face flushed pink in a blush formed out of excitement and horror. Sasuke didn't ask anything of her, but she obviously knew what he wanted. She shoved the bag of potato chips into his waiting hand and ran off, the silent Dosu not far behind. Sasuke didn't move until they were out of sight. When he did make a move, he turned to Choji who gazed up at the Uchiha, mouth agape.

"Here," Sasuke said, handing the chubby boy the acquired bag.

Moving robotically, Choji accepted his returned snack, his shocked facial expression not changing, even as the foreboding boy turned to Shikamaru.

"You're alright?" he asked the stunned boy, who nodded, slowly, in reply.

Sasuke nodded once in understanding before his black gaze swept over the table. The other people in the cafeteria began to whisper, always sending the Uchiha mixed glances. He turned away from the table and began to walk away but, not before Naruto noticed a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Naruto didn't realize it was his voice that rang out after Sasuke until said raven-haired boy turned back and fixed his grief-ridden gaze on him.

"You don't seem to want me to remain," he stated softly, all the previous malice replaced with sadness.

"Are you kidding?"

All eyes turned to Kiba, a thrilled smile upon his face as he looked to Sasuke.

"That was amazing! Do you know how difficult it was for us to get those jerks off our backs? We owe you big time!"

Agreements arose from the table before Lee tackled the unsuspecting Uchiha in a teary glomp.

"That was beautiful that you stood up for us misfits like that!" he exclaimed, dramatically. "No one's ever done that before!"

Naruto resumed his seat, not realizing how much his legs were shaking from the excitement. Lee continued to sob in joy, hugging Sasuke to the point where Naruto was afraid he'd choke the Uchiha. The blond noticed the confused look in Sasuke's eyes as he gazed past Lee's waterfall of joyful tears at the welcoming faces at the table. A smile tweaked his lips afterwards and his mood instantly shifted to that of relief as Lee dragged him back to his seat.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," he apologized as he disentangled himself from the weeping boy attached to him. "I just hate people like that guy."

"Who doesn't?" Kiba snorted, scooting closer down to Sasuke's side of the table. "I've never seen Zaku so scared! What did you _do_?"

"Intimidation, I guess," Sasuke replied, shrugging. "I hope the chips were worth it."

He smiled down at Choji, who was still staring at him. The boy quickly extended the bag in offer to him. Chuckling, Sasuke waved his hand in rejection before turning down to Shikamaru.

"I hope you don't mind that I intervened. Did you want to take him on your own?"

Still slowly, Shikamaru shook his head, clearly in shock.

"S-Sasuke?"

Said Uchiha turned to Hinata, expectantly, as did Naruto. She had remained quiet throughout the whole ordeal. Naruto knew she got upset over fights and he hadn't paid much attention to her like he usually did during that one. He was surprised when she appeared to be fine, gazing at Sasuke in wonder and reverence.

"W-Will you join us on Friday night for the Halloween dance?"

Sasuke blinked once, leaning back in his chair as he thought about it.

"I wouldn't want to intrude…"

"Who's intruding?" Naruto interrupted, beaming at Sasuke. "As far as I'm concerned, you're a part of the group now! It would be wrong not to have you with us on Friday."

Sasuke smiled in gratitude at Naruto, his onyx eyes warm and happy. It was official. Naruto really liked Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

_Teenagers scare the living shit out of me / They could care less as long a someone'll bleed / So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose / Maybe they'll leave you alone but not me_


	4. CHAPTER 3 Dance, Dance

**~Chapter III**~

~_Dance, Dance_~

* * *

_She says she's no good with words but I'm worse / Barely stuttered out / A joke of a romantic stuck to my tongue / And weighed down with words too overdramatic / Tonight it's a can't get much worse / VS no one should ever feel like…_

* * *

Everyone was preparing for Halloween. Girls were asking guys out and guys were asking girls out. It puzzled Naruto, when he observed that Sakura was not one of those girls asking (specific) guys out. He had watched her closely the day before Halloween, anticipating her throwing herself at Sasuke's mercy. She did not do this, however, but she was constantly whispering to her friends and sending Sasuke suggestive glances every time he passed by. Sakura's distance left a very wide and fleeting opportunity for every other infatuated teenage girl. He spent Thursday trying not to be smothered with girls trampling over every person in their path to Sasuke. (Lee valiantly tried to fend them off of his new friend – and failed).

The blond sighed, glancing at himself in the mirror. Though he loved Halloween, Naruto wasn't much of a costume person. He'd lamely donned some fox ears and a tail before dropping onto his bed and eying his watch. He had fifteen minutes before Kiba would be there to pick him up at seven.

"Don't worry about Sakura," he whispered to himself, closing his eyes. "You like Sasuke. Sasuke's a great guy. He would never go for a girl like Sakura anyway."

He opened his eyes again and stared at the ceiling in distress. A girl like Sakura…What kind of girl was she anyway? To him and so many others she was just drop dead gorgeous. Also to him…there was something more he saw to her. There had to be for him to keep wanting her over and over again. He wouldn't deny that he thought of her as a gold-digging slut – one of his favorite insults when they got into frequent break-up fights. He didn't like thinking of her like that but, how could he think anything else? She was a tramp: she threw herself at _everybody_ who had money, looks, and power. He was none of those things. He never would be. Why couldn't he just let her go? Why was he still thinking about this?

He sat up and growled in irritation. It was because he saw things redeemable in Sakura when they were together. When they were on a date or just hanging out with no one else around, he saw a more tender, more innocent side of her. She was fragile beneath her sexy, all-powerful shell. The confident, insensitive front was a ruse for her insecurities. It was because of that hidden side of her that he wanted her back. He thought he had to save her from the harlot she'd become. He couldn't surrender when there was a damsel in distress, right in front of him every day.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair and bumping the ears out of place. He shouldn't be thinking about this right now, he chastised himself. This night was supposed to be fun. This night, he was going to be with his friends and really welcome Sasuke to the school. That's what this night was about. He couldn't let anything ruin that.

* * *

The dance was held in the school cafeteria, the largest room in the building. When Naruto and his friends arrived, it was filled with monsters and mayhem. Music was blasting and lights were flashing. Games were set up along the walls as were the snack tables. There was no where else to go once said snacks were on Choji's radar.

"Oy vey. There's just no stopping him is there?" Naruto sighed, leaning against a table.

"We've really got to start training him," Shikamaru agreed, the heavy zombie make-up on his face stretching and creasing as he yawned.

"You're tired already?" Kiba asked, placing his favorite puppy upon his head – between his fluffy, gray wolf ears.

"Uh, Kiba? Are you sure Akamaru's allowed in here?" Naruto questioned.

"It's Halloween! Anything and everything is allowed in here! Even Lee!"

They turned to said Bruce Lee cosplayer, already on the dance floor, showing off some wild martial arts moves.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't hurt someone," Kiba laughed, rolling his eyes and venturing into the mass of people, minding Akamaru, carefully.

Shikamaru went to stand watch over their Frankenstein monster, Choji, leaving Naruto with Hinata, dressed like an angel in a long silver gown with snowy swan wings.

"Hi," Naruto chuckled, smiling at her.

"Hi," she returned, smiling, shyly.

"You look good tonight," he commented, politely, making her blush, profusely, and he didn't know why.

Since he mentioned it, Naruto could not help but throw his gaze around the room in search of Sakura. It wasn't hard to miss her. She was across the room with her group of friends, dressed as a very sexy Cupid. He kept getting distracted by the amount of leg visible beneath the thin white stockings. She was a lot taller in those (had to be six inch) red heels. He forced himself to look up at her face. She was in a corset and a short, frilly skirt, hearts and bows hanging from her hair, neck, and wrists.

He was beginning to feel hot and he forgot to breathe until he felt a plastic cup forced into his hand. He ripped his blue gaze away from the goddess of love across the room to look back at his friend. Hinata was not looking at him, instead looking at the floor, her long, inky hair veiling her face. Naruto's fingers clasped around the cold cup of water she had given him before he gladly, gulped it down.

"Why?" he gasped afterwards, staring across the room, longingly.

Hinata glanced at him through her dark locks, not quite knowing what he meant.

"Why am I so obsessed with her?" he asked again without her requesting clarification. "Why would I want to be with someone that hurt me so many times before?"

"Maybe you love her?" Hinata squeaked, finding it hard to speak.

"I don't know," Naruto growled, crushing the empty cup in his hand.

"Now's your chance," Hinata murmured, nodding towards where Sakura was departing from her group of friends.

Naruto dropped the squished cup in shock at this turn of events. She was heading to a snack table not far from where he stood and she was alone. It could be his only chance. Hinata nudged him in the side and he stumbled in Sakura's direction. Eyes fixed upon the object of his infatuation, Naruto walked towards her, milling over what he would say. It had seemed so far away when he was standing beside Hinata but, it felt like he'd only taken one step before he was beside Sakura.

"Um…h-hi."

She glanced up at him from her drink, eyes narrowing.

"…Hi…" she hesitated when she removed her red lips from the cup.

"H-How's it going?"

She placed the drink on the table before turning to him, abruptly, one hand upon her hip.

"What are you doing?"

He blinked in confusion and opened his mouth to say something but, she spoke over him.

"I told you a long time ago that we were done. I don't want to be with you Naruto."

"I-I know -"

"Then what are you doing?"

Her jade eyes flashed in fury and he was very disheartened by this. She was over him, but, he was still hung up on her. He was looking more and more pathetic than ever.

"I…just wanted to tell you that I…think you look really good tonight."

He sighed in defeat, pocketing his hands and turning to leave. He knew it was hopeless. Why did he even bother? He wasn't good enough for someone like her.

"Wait!"

Even though he was near positive that he was imagining it, Naruto stopped and turned back to Sakura. She was looking at him, intently, giving him the impression that perhaps he didn't imagine her calling to him.

"You…really think I look good?"

His heart came close to stopping and all the heat flushed into his face.

"Um, y-yeah. You look beautiful."

She blinked and fumbled with her hands. He knew all to well that that was a sign she was humbled.

"You r-really think so? Everyone's been staring at me like I'm some sort of prostitute."

"Nonsense! You're a beautiful girl and you deserve to show off a bit."

The second he said it, he instantly wanted to take it back. He sounded oh _so _desperate and she must have thought him a fool. She wasn't entirely paying attention to him though, because the Uchihas had just walked in. All the girls' eyes were glued to the masquerading brothers in the doorway. Naruto wasn't going to lie, they did look impressive. They looked like something out of "Dracula" in there black capes and glittering masks.

"You're friends with Sasuke, right?"

Naruto's attention was drawn back to Sakura, the Cupid girl looking at him with excited eyes.

"Yeah -"

"Does he ever talk about me? Does he even know who I am? Does he _wonder _who I am?"

"Um -"

"Would it be weird if I asked him to dance? Would he think I was creepy?"

"No, but -"

"Who am I kidding? He's way too good for me. I can't ask him. I've got to make him ask me. Come on!"

Naruto had no clue what was going on but, she was dragging him into the thrall of dancing teenagers, where the music was the loudest.

"What are we doing?" he yelled over the blasting beat.

"Dancing!" she yelled back. "Just roll with it!"

She started dancing, swiveling her hips and tossing her hair. He was lost and confused. _She _wanted _him _to dance with her? He supposed he shouldn't have had a problem since it was what he wanted all along. But, she had just been ranting about Sasuke. What was she doing?

He, awkwardly, shuffled to the song, getting bumped by other dancers but, always keeping Sakura in his sights. She was hard to miss. She was shaking _everything _at her disposal, lips parted, and eyes closed. The green pools appeared frequently from beneath her long lashes, glancing around in search of Sasuke.

It wasn't hard for Naruto to spot the Uchihas. The two strolled through the outskirts of the dancing, black eyes watching their surroundings from beneath their masks. When Sakura pressed up against him, her body twisting in sexy maneuvers, Naruto realized what she was doing. She was trying to get Sasuke's attention and she was using Naruto to get it. He knew he should have gotten away from her the second it dawned on him but, he couldn't. He wanted her _so _badly…

"So where are these friends of yours?" Itachi asked Sasuke, curiously – his brother was ecstatic about him meeting his new acquaintances tonight.

"All over the place, I guess. Ummm…oh! There's one! Come on!"

Sasuke took Itachi's hand and hurried him over to where he'd spotted Hinata, alone at a snack table.

"Hey Hinata," he greeted, making her jump, slightly.

"Oh! Sasuke! Hi! I-I didn't recognize you for a second there."

"Does that mean our costumes are good?"

"Yes," she managed to giggle, despite her melancholy mood. "You two look very convincing."

"So do you," Itachi put in, politely.

"T-Thank you," she stammered, blushing again.

"Hinata, this is my brother, Itachi. Nii-san, this is my friend Hinata."

"Charmed," Itachi said, extending his hand in greeting.

"What the hell?" Naruto heard Sakura protest past her exhausted dancing.

He glanced back at the exchange between the Uchihas and Hinata, the latter and Itachi shaking hands ands smiling, pleasantly. The older man said something that Naruto couldn't hear over the music but, it made Hinata laugh. She and Sasuke started talking and he must have asked her about Naruto because she nodded to where he was dancing with Sakura. Naruto was instantly embarrassed at the shocked look on Sasuke's face when he spotted them.

"Good! He's watching," Sakura gasped, whirling around to face Naruto and raising the temperature with some more intricate, sexy dance movs. "Make me look good."

"What are they doing?" Itachi asked Sasuke, disgust clear in his voice.

"I…don't know…"

"Please tell me that's not one of your friends."

"Naruto is but…I didn't think he was that type of guy."

"He's not."

The two Uchihas turned at Hinata's shaking voice, the girl glaring across the room at Sakura, angry tears welling up in her eyes.

"It's Sakura. She fills his head with false hope and makes him believe that she loves him when, all she wants is to use him."

"Are you okay?" Sasuke asked, touching her shaking shoulder.

Hinata closed her eyes and took a breath to compose herself.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just wish he would stop letting her do that to him is all."

Sasuke nodded and glanced at Itachi.

"Would a dance make you feel better?" the older asked of her with a smile.

"Oh! N-No. I'm a terrible dancer."

"I'm sure that's not true," Sasuke reassured, chuckling easily. "It'll be fun. We can meet up with Kiba and the others."

Hesitating briefly, and glancing back at Naruto and Sakura, she nodded and followed them into the dancing.

"No, no, no!" Sakura growled as she watched the Uchihas take Hinata to dance. "Why is he dancing with her? He should want to dance with _me_!"

"Sakura, I -"

"What do I have to do?" she asked of him, her eyes now reflecting the desperation he had felt previously. "How do I make him want me?"

"I-I don't know, I -"

"That's it! Come with me!"

Naruto was jerked away, towards the cafeteria exit. He did not miss how she purposely walked past the Uchihas taking turns dancing with Hinata, all three of them laughing. Kiba appeared among them and, as he conversed with Itachi and Hinata, Sasuke happened to catch Sakura and Naruto walking past. Sakura sent him a lecherous grin that he visibly cringed away from before the pair exited the cafeteria.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Naruto asked as she dragged him through the halls, abandoning the blaring music and raging party.

"You'll see. Don't worry. This'll benefit the both of us."

His heart was racing and he wasn't sure what from. They left the school building into the cool, October air, Sakura's heels tapping the parking lot pavement, loudly, as they crossed over to a sleek, dark blue sports car with tinted windows. They stopped at the side of it, Sakura pressing a button on one of the keys from her pocket and unlocking the doors. Before he could ask again, he was whirled around and slammed against the car. She latched onto his shirt and pulled up close.

"Sakura! What are you -"

"Sh! You want me don't you?"

His mouth stopped moving at this as she whispered, huskily, to him, the strong scent of cherry blossoms washing over him like a tsunami.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem. This way, we'll both get what we want."

Her red lips crashed down upon his before he could comprehend anything. She forced her tongue into his mouth, sandwiching him against the car. He succumbed to her without hesitation. She was kissing him and he didn't want her to stop. She reached down and pulled the back car door open. She, roughly, pushed him into the vehicle.

He fell against the dark, leather seats, trying to sit up and gain control of the situation. He was afraid he was dreaming at first but, as she climbed into the car with him, the way he _felt _her was far too real. He didn't know why she was doing this anymore as she lay down on top of him and he really didn't care. All he knew was that he wanted her. For the rest of the night, he spiraled down into self-oblivion.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi was a lenient man but, not when it came to crime. Being Konoha's leading police detective, he had no room to give mercy. He had been prepared for Halloween this year. It was the time of year where pranks ended up in felony. He was used to vandalism and fires, maybe even some kidnappings and rape. What he was not prepared to see when he was called out that night to cross over the police tape was murder.

"Name?" he asked the man beside the body.

"Not sure yet sir. But, she's about seventeen, probably on the soccer team, and pretty fit. Whoever killed her had to be pretty strong. She could have probably taken three of us down with ease."

Kakashi's head tilted to the side as he gazed at the bloody body. It was difficult to tell where the bleeding wound was beneath all the red but, what drew his attention the most, were the two red marks, drilled into her neck.

* * *

_Dance, dance / We're falling apart to half time / Dance, dance / And these are the live you love to lead / Dance, this is the way they'd look / If they knew how misery loved me_


	5. CHAPTER 4 Across the Sky

**~Chapter IV~**

_~Across the Sky~_

* * *

_Fear no more the midnight / Fear no more the sea / Close your eyes, regret nothing / You're safe with me / Look into the shadows / Step into the mist / Search your land but doubt never / I still exist_

* * *

"Be honest with me. Did you have fun last night?" Sasuke asked, pouring two glasses of their preferred drink at the mini bar.

"It wasn't as bad as I thought," Itachi replied from within the deep closet on the other side of the room. "I didn't want to devour your friends."

"That's fabulous news!" Sasuke beamed, rolling his eyes, sarcastically.

"I meant that none of them were jerks," Itachi explained, emerging from the closet with an armful of black clothes. "They were nice. Hinata seems like a sweet girl, Kiba seems cool, Shikamaru's lazy, Choji's a pig, and Lee…"

He didn't even have to say anything for the two of them to start laughing. Sasuke passed him his glass of red drink, Itachi placing the clothes on the end of the bed before accepting.

"So you had a _little _bit of fun?" Sasuke continued to ask, biting his lip, nervous that he'd bored his brother.

"Yes," Itachi reassured, smiling at the younger. "It really did take me back, especially during the slow dances. I remember when we danced like that in the _real _masquerades."

"Really?" Sasuke laughed. "You remember dancing to electronica in the 1800s?"

They both laughed again, touching glasses and sipping the beverage, never breaking eye contact, said gazes flickering vermilion in the moment.

"It was easy to imagine violins instead of guitars, and chandeliers instead of strobe lights, especially when I was looking at you."

Sasuke laughed once, redirecting his gaze to the crimson liquid trapped in the glass, bashfully.

"You've always been an entrancing dancer," Itachi continued, his hand sliding into the small of Sasuke's back and pulling him close.

"Stop it," Sasuke giggled, lightly punching his chest. "You know I hate flattery."

"But, you deserve it. You're _so _good at _so _many things."

"Enough of the innuendos," Sasuke scolded, bringing his gaze back up to meet his. "You're turning me on."

"In what universe is that a bad thing?"

"In a universe where we have a house to work on."

Itachi groaned at the unarguable excuse. The house _did _need work. They'd already pre-planned their weekend to get it done. Even for two, lightning-fast individuals, they had three centuries of cobwebs to kill and wood to replace. It would be time-consuming (two days being a long time for them as opposed to two weeks for a human).

"Don't worry," Sasuke said. "We can make it fun."

"We always do."

"Besides, I wanted to look for ghosts. Naruto says our house is haunted," Sasuke told him, eyes narrowing, mischievously.

"Naruto? Isn't he the one that…"

"Unfortunately," Sasuke mumbled, taking another sip of his drink.

"Did you ever find out what was going on last night?"

Sasuke shrugged, clearly frustrated with his new friend, as well as the girl he was with.

"It was disgusting," he said after gulping down the rest of his drink. "I forgot how little self-respect humans have for themselves."

"Don't be upset. It has nothing to do with you," Itachi murmured, running his fingers through Sasuke's raven bangs.

"I know," the younger sighed. "The problem is that I really liked Naruto but, I don't think I can be friends with someone who acts that way with women. It's so revolting."

There was a short silence, the older of the two continually stroking Sasuke's soft tresses.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, eyes expressing Sasuke's sadness that the latter refused to show on his pale features.

"Yeah," Sasuke breathed. "Me too."

"What are you sorry about?"

"For thinking that humans had some decency."

* * *

Naruto woke up early - for a Saturday - at about nine o' clock. For the first time, in a rather long time, he woke up with a smile on his face. Last night _really _happened, he reminded himself. There was no doubt about it. He could still smell her perfume on him. He could still _feel _her. He tingled all over as he replayed the night's events over and over again in his head. It had been amazing!

Sighing in delight, Naruto got out of bed, almost feeling like dancing at how overjoyed he felt. He wasn't sure if he wanted to take a shower, for fear of washing away the essence of her that he still felt upon him. He came to the decision to go ahead and take the shower, figuring if he saw her today, he wanted to look good. He took some time in cleaning himself up for the day, unlike what he usually did, just rushing through and not really caring.

He was meeting his friends at their usual weekend spot: Ichiraku Ramen. After scrubbing his teeth and clawing his spiky hair into disheveled order, he left his apartment, whistling a perky, morning tune. He was on cloud nine as he strode through the streets of Konoha, a bounce in his steps. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and it was altogether a gorgeous day. He thought it was fitting; a cheery day for his cheery mood. He felt on top of the world until he stepped into the small ramen shop.

"What's happening everybody?"

The melancholy atmosphere that burdened itself upon his shoulders instantly outweighed his happiness. There was no joy on his friends' faces as he would have expected the day after Halloween. Kiba was solemnly stroking Akamaru's coat, the small dog whimpering in his lap. Shikamaru's head was up as opposed to down on the counter and he was the only one that looked at Naruto upon his entrance. Choji sat beside him, staring into an untouched bowl of noodles. Lee and Hinata were not in attendance.

"Guys?" Naruto asked, afraid of entering the melancholy shop and being suffocated by the sadness.

"You haven't heard the news?" Shikamaru asked, voice rasping a little.

"If I did would I be standing here with a dumb look on my face?"

When he didn't receive a jeer from Kiba, it was definite that something was _very _wrong. Shikamaru beckoned him to take a seat, the blond, cautiously, complying, glancing at each of his silent friends.

"Where are Lee and Hinata?" he asked as he situated himself on the stool, kind of afraid to know.

"At the Hyuga estate, with Neji."

Hyuga Neji was Hinata's older cousin. He went to a more advanced school instead of Konoha Public High. Naruto didn't see much of him nor did he want to. Neji didn't like Naruto and Naruto didn't like Neji. The older boy had made it no secret that he thought the younger was "ignorant, hollow-headed, pathetic, and a delinquent that should never in any way, shape, or form, be associated to my family and disgrace our name." Naruto's usual rebuttal was "dumb-idiot-ass." It wasn't the best way to make the Hyuga's opinion of him any better.

"Why?" Naruto sighed, doubting that anything to do with that pompous jerk would be of any interest to him.

"His girlfriend was murdered last night."

Naruto's heart flip-flopped, making him cough at how his breath hitched.

"You're not serious…This isn't funny," Naruto said after a solemn silence, glaring at Shikamaru and trying not to believe him.

"It's true Naruto. A friend of mine is investigating as we speak."

Naruto turned to the rough voice as the old shopkeeper, Teuchi, emerged from the kitchen, a bowl of ramen in his wrinkled hands. Teuchi was an honest man. Naruto could not deny it when he clarified this news.

"But…what…happened?"

Teuchi placed the bowl of ramen before Naruto, pulling a stool up on the other side of the counter, folding his hands on the polished wood.

"Last night, at around ten o' clock I think, my friend was called out to Kiba Drive, into the woods behind Miss Yuhi's house. They found young Miss Tenten's body beneath a tree, cut open in three places."

Naruto was stunned, feeling all of the heat leave his body in one big rush. He could only feebly stare at the wise old man before him. What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to react? He had never heard of such a thing. Not in Konoha. _Nothing _happened in Konoha!

"She was…Neji's girlfriend?" he asked any of his friends, voice surprisingly steady considering his terror at the news.

"Yeah…" Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his hand against his face, looking more tired than usual. "He's really distraught about it. That's why Hinata and Lee are with him."

Naruto recalled that Neji and Lee had been childhood friends - much like Choji and Shikamaru - long before the blond had met them. He didn't hear much about this Tenten girl, however.

"How long were they together?" he asked, his voice beginning to resound the sorrow he was now feeling.

"About two years, I think," Shikamaru replied, voice very quiet. "Maybe even more. A lot of people really thought they were in love."

"Terrible," Kiba whispered before the ramen shop fell into silence, the only sound being the soft bubbling of boiling water.

"Who would do something like that?" Naruto asked no one in particular.

"Boys," Teuchi spoke up, voice stern and serious. "Promise me you'll be careful. Avoid being alone, don't talk to strangers, and lock your doors at night._ Please_."

The four boys nodded, none of them looking the older man in the eye.

"Nothing bad has ever happened in Konoha," Naruto whispered, emptily.

"Now, something is."

Steadily, the ramen shop emptied as the hours went by. Shikamaru and the others left before him, not in the mood for their usual Saturday walk-abouts town. Naruto didn't blame them. He'd rather be safe at home too, if he was them. He bid them ado, for once, offering to pay for the lunch.

"Thanks for the ramen Old Man," Naruto thanked Teuchi as he payed, getting up to depart.

"Have a safe trip home Naruto," Teuchi said, piling the half eaten bowls together.

"I'm not sure if I'll go home or not. I might crash out at someone's house until this psycho is caught," Naruto said, feeling exhausted.

"I'd prefer if you were never alone. The more people you have around the better, I think," the old shopkeeper added, feeling concerned as he recalled Naruto had no family to shelter him.

"I'll figure something out," the young boy mumbled, not believing he would. "So, who's your friend working on the case?"

Teuchi appreciated Naruto's not-so-subtle change of subject, pitying how he had no one to look out for him since his godfather ran away.

"You might know him," he answered. "His name's Hatake Kakashi."

"Kakashi? Yeah! I know him."

That was an understatement. When he had run away from foster care, Kakashi had been the officer sent to retrieve him. Instead of forcing him to go back, the man offered him a place to call his own: an apartment on 13th Street, where he lived now. Kakashi had taken care of Naruto until he knew how to take care of himself. He stopped in every couple of weeks to make sure he was okay. He was a better caretaker for Naruto in his father's absence than his godfather had ever been.

"If Kakashi's on the case, then Konoha should be safe again in no time!" Naruto beamed, his spirits instantly lifted.

Kakashi had never failed a case. He was the best in the Konoha Police Department. It was because of people like him that the little town was kept safe.

"Still Naruto," Teuchi advised. "Be careful until they catch this guy. Promise?"

"Don't worry Old Man. I promise."

* * *

Itachi had noticed his brother not acting like himself after he returned from purchasing some disgusting human food. He'd been silent during the quick, unappetizing meal, seeking out the mini bar of red bliss soon afterwards. They proceeded to polish up the mansion, Sasuke never starting up a conversation as he had earlier that day. Whenever Itachi attempted to get him talking, all he received in reply were one-worded statements, two words if he was lucky.

The sun began to set and the Uchihas quit their work for the day. They'd succeeded in finishing their restoration of the interior. The marble floors shone, the velvet curtains billowed over the stain glass windows, and the burgundy carpets cushioned each step taken. Tomorrow, all they needed to finish was the outside. Even as they prepared for bed, Sasuke still remained deep in thought. Itachi puzzled over what he could possibly be thinking about, watching him intently as he went about tidying the closet.

"What are you thinking about?" Itachi voiced the question, unable to decipher his brother's rigid movements.

"Nothing," Sasuke lied, moving from the closet to the back windows, swiftly.

"You honestly think I'm going to believe that?" Itachi asked, eyes narrowing as he gazed at Sasuke.

The latter did not answer, continuing to stand like an iced over statue by the windowed wall. Itachi positioned himself behind Sasuke, trapping him in his arms to prevent him from darting off and avoiding the question.

"What's wrong with you today? You seem upset."

"It's nothing. Just rumors," Sasuke murmured, fixing his dark eyes upon the sunset.

"Rumors about us? I didn't think such trivial, mortal things would bother you so," Itachi chuckled, reaching up and smoothing a hand over Sasuke's raven head.

"It's not about us…"

"Then what was it about?"

A short silence breezed through the elegant room before Sasuke turned in his lover's arms, looking up at him with deep eyes of black, laced with worry.

"They're saying a girl was murdered last night."

"Ah. Yes. I heard about that."

"Do you think it has anything to do with us?"

"Nonsense," Itachi chuckled. "How could it? We just got here!"

"I know that but…"

"But…?" Itachi urged, running his thumb across Sasuke's pale cheek.

"You'll think it's dumb," Sasuke mumbled.

This made Itachi laugh again, tugging his brother over to the bed and sitting him down upon it, saying, "Don't you know by now that I take everything you say seriously?"

Sasuke looked anywhere but at Itachi, the faintest tint of an embarrassed flush shading his alabaster face.

"Tell me your thoughts," Itachi insisted, folding his hands over Sasuke's, an open smile upon his lips. "Maybe I can help."

It took Sasuke a moment to gather his thoughts, glancing up at his brother's warm face. He sighed in defeat and began to explain, leaning back against the headboard.

"When I heard some ladies describing the crime scene, I felt as if messages were left in the killing…talking about us."

He twiddled with his fingers, a very human reaction to embarrassment. Itachi didn't respond immediately and Sasuke was afraid he was laughing at him inside until the older maneuvered to rest beside him.

"What kind of messages?" he queried, eyes curious.

"Well…they said she was behind the house of a woman named Kurenai."

"Crimson: the color of blood," Itachi said to himself, nodding in understanding. "What does that have to do with us though? Some humans are just as obsessed as we are with blood."

"I don't think it was a human," Sasuke said, voice low.

"Why?"

"Because there was another message in the location. The girl was found on Kiba Drive."

Itachi raised an eyebrow for him to go on, now lost as to what Sasuke was trying to say. The younger rolled his eyes at this.

"Out of the hundreds of languages you know, you can't remember _one _Japanese word?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed in a glare at Sasuke's teasing before the raven-haired boy explained.

"She was found on _Kiba _Drive…Kiba means Fang."

* * *

The next morning, Naruto decided to stay indoors. His friends were doing the same so he had no one to rendezvous with anyway. He woke up _exceptionally_ late, at around eleven thirty. The day prior had exhausted him beyond belief. Dragging himself out of bed, Naruto shuffled into his small kitchen, fumbling through his refrigerator for his breakfast, lunch, and dinner: instant ramen.

Eyes bleary and thoughts solely on food, the blond sat at the kitchen table to wait for his meal to heat up in the microwave. When he heard a knock at his door, first, he thought he was just so tired that he was imagining it. Then, he imagined the psychopath that had killed Tenten at his door, ready to gut him the second he answered. Shaking the weariness and delirious thoughts out of his head, Naruto went to answer to the knock, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"If I was a psychotic murderer, you would be dead," the man on the other side of the door said when Naruto answered.

"Honestly, Kakashi?" Naruto chuckled. "You honestly expect me to imagine you as a psycho?"

"Aw. Come on! I have to be somewhat threatening to be a police officer," the masked man whined, raising his fist to connect with Naruto's in their standard form of greeting.

"How's it going Pops?" Naruto laughed, casually.

"Pretty good, if you think investigating a possible serial murder is 'pretty good.'"

"Come on in," the boy chortled, moving aside and allowing him entrance.

He'd been expecting that Kakashi would make a visit within the week. Although the man was good at being subtle, Naruto knew he worried, profusely, about him. It made the boy feel happy. It was good to have someone watching out for him when he was so alone.

"Are you ever going to take up my advice and eat something other than ramen?" Kakashi asked from the little kitchen.

Naruto rolled his eyes, still smiling, and shut the door before joining Kakashi in the small room.

"Want coffee or something?" he asked, going through the cabinets for a mug.

"And risk listening to you make fun of my face? I think I'll pass," Kakashi declined, taking a seat at the table.

Naruto smiled at how easily the man saw through his offers. The microwave beeped then, Naruto taking a seat beside the detective and sighing in delight at the scent of his personal delicacy.

"You scare me sometimes," Kakashi said, staring at him with that one, smoky eye of his.

Many years before Naruto was born, when Kakashi was still an amateur cop, most of his face had been brutally scarred. Some said that he'd been in a bad car accident. Others said he'd been in a burning building. No one really knew what happened to make the esteemed detective conceal his face, and every time Naruto asked, the man would make a joke of it. Naruto had never seen what his companion really looked like. He always wore that black mask and eye patch.

"So what made you want to stop by?" Naruto asked, running noodles through his chopsticks as he stirred up his meal. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Why do you always assume I have an agenda when I stop by?" Kakashi asked, feigning hurt.

Naruto gave him a look - a hard, scolding, cut-the-act look.

"Okay, fine," Kakashi sighed, raising his hands in surrender. "I wanted to make sure you knew what was going on and that you were safe."

"Who _doesn't _know what's going on?" Naruto snorted. "Do you have any leads?"

"No," the man sighed, shaking his head. "You'd think in a town like this it wouldn't be difficult. But…"

"Then again, nothing like this has ever happened in Konoha," Naruto finished for him.

"We're waiting for the autopsy results. It's difficult to identify what the cause of death was and thereby difficult to say what the murder weapon was.

"So it was really a murder? Some people thought it was an animal."

"Come on, Naruto. What do you think this is? It's the real world, where we know what was done by man and what was done by bear."

Naruto bit his lip and nodded. He'd known it wasn't an animal all along but, he had hoped. It was much less terrifying to believe that something that had no sense of right or wrong was walking around instead of something that did and deliberately chose to do wrong.

"So, there's really a maniac walking around Konoha."

It wasn't a question. It was obvious what the truth was and it scared the hell out of him.

"Naruto, if you see anything or hear anything, promise you'll call me."

"I will," he agreed, quietly.

"And if you get scared or feel threatened in the _least bit _by _anyone_…"

"I know, I know!" Naruto said, harsher than he intended.

Kakashi gave him a concerned look, the younger taking a breath to compose himself.

"I know," he repeated, softer this time. "Don't worry."

* * *

"Did you sleep at all last night?" Itachi asked of his brother the following morning, fondly playing with Sasuke's ebony strands of hair.

"No," the younger answered, curtly.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know."

"You're still worried about these messages in the murder?"

"Yeah…just a bit."

"You shouldn't," Itachi sighed, propping himself up on his elbows to look down at Sasuke. "There's no reason for there to be _anything _- especially like this - to be linked with us. We barely have any history in this town and it's been three hundred years since we were here last. What happened has nothing to do with us."

"Yeah but…don't you think it's a bit strange that the second we show up, the most uneventful town in the country is shrouded in a mysterious murder?"

The room was silent as Sasuke allowed the question to suspend in the atmosphere. Within that time, he disentangled himself from the bed sheets, dressing in his usual black garb, although trading his black, button-down shirt in for a white one. After taking the instant it took Sasuke to dress to think about what he had asked him, Itachi got up and did the same.

"I will admit it's a little too symbolic and close to home to be coincidental," he said, pulling on his jacket as he emerged from the closet.

"A little bit?" Sasuke snorted, taking a few fast steps to bridge the gap between him and Itachi.

"It's like I said," Itachi explained as Sasuke did up the buttons of his shirt at a prolonged, mortal pace. "We're not the only creatures in the world that are obsessed with blood."

"_We're _not _obsessed_. It's not our fault we were built to require such a thing to live," Sasuke argued, adjusting Itachi's jacket into perfect neatness. "_We _don't get drunk on the stuff like _some _others do."

Itachi chuckled in amusement, reaching up, and fiddling with his brother's jacket in return.

"Speaking of," Sasuke went on, tapping his porcelain-like fingers against the older's chest. "I want to see the Countess tonight."

"_Why on Earth _would you want to see that bitter old bitch?" Itachi groaned, dramatically.

"It's because she resides over this town," Sasuke said, sliding his arms around Itachi's neck. "I want to thank her for leaving the house standing after all this time. I also want to reassure her that we had nothing to do with the death of that girl. The last thing I want is for them to come after us with torches and pitchforks."

Itachi still looked irritated at the idea of meeting up with the woman. They didn't get along in the slightest bit. If he didn't have Sasuke to charm him out of an argument, he was sure the woman would have driven a stake through his chest eons ago.

"Do we _really _have to go see her?" the older brother whined, _very _immaturely.

"It'll be the only time in our entire stay here," Sasuke insisted, bringing his hands around to fiddle with the top button of his lover's shirt. "If we don't get it over with now, _you know _she'll end up breaking our door down with a million SWATs in her wake."

Itachi visibly shuddered at the image, knowing full well that it was likely to happen.

"Fine," he sighed in resignation, a smile instantly adorning Sasuke's face at the agreement. "But, don't expect me to speak."

* * *

Naruto wasn't sure what he was expecting when he walked into school that day. He had been rather _hoping _that all he would hear was the annoying chatter over Halloween. The gossip was, _obviously_, not about that. He was getting awfully depressed with the talk of death abuzz in the halls. It was near impossible to tune it out. It was like tidal wave of conversation tidbits drowning out his ears. There was no escape. He didn't get any relief from his friends either. Of all his buddies he could have run in to, it had to be Hinata, cousin of the victim's boyfriend.

"Hey Hinata," he sighed when he caught up in step to her in the morning traffic. "How are things going? Is Neji okay?"

"Not in the slightest," Hinata replied, dread in her usually sweet voice. "He's barely spoken since Tenten…"

"Yeah," Naruto murmured, so she wouldn't have to say it.

"He hasn't been eating much either. He locks himself in his room a lot and once, we thought he purposely hurt himself but, he's not that bad…not yet."

Naruto sympathized with Neji, despite their differences. He'd felt similarly when his parents first went missing.

"How are you holding up?" he asked, giving her a once over for any signs of weariness or depression.

"I'm fine," she answered, sending him a smile that barely lifted her lips up. "Its tiring is all. We've been over at the branch house a lot to help Uncle Hizashi look out for Neji."

"How about Lee?"

"He's taking it better than I thought he would."

"Did either of you know this girl well?"

"I'd only met her on a few occasions. She seemed like a nice girl…very accomplished…she had a bright future ahead of her."

Silence fell over the two friends, deafening the babbling going on around them for a moment. Naruto's blue gaze dropped to the floor as he thought about what Neji was going through. It sounded as if he was very close with the girl. The Hyugas were one hell of a large family though. At least he had tons of people to offer him comfort. Naruto was so swept up in his thoughts, the he didn't watch where he was going, stumbling into someone much taller than he near the lockers.

"Watch it!" the ferocious warning came and Naruto jumped back and prepared a rebuttal until he was met with Uchiha Sasuke's easy-going smile.

"Oh, hi there Naruto!" he greeted.

The blond was confused for a moment, wondering how such a frightening warning came from such a pleasant smirk. That was, until, he looked up at the older man beside Sasuke.

"Don't mind him," Sasuke said when he noticed Itachi glaring at his friend. "He's just a little grumpy today."

Naruto thought "grumpy" was a _big _understatement. The look on the man's face, filled with rage and irritation, struggled to hide behind a mask of cool indifference.

"This is my brother, Itachi," Sasuke introduced, closing the locker they stood before. "I wanted to introduce you on Halloween but, you were…occupied.

Naruto turned away from Itachi to look at Sasuke, noticing the way he searched for the word. He felt the heat of embarrassment rise up as he remembered that Sasuke saw him "suggestively dancing" with Sakura.

"Oh, yeah…right," was all he could muster in his defense.

Instead of getting acquainted with Naruto, Itachi turned to converse with Hinata, his bizarre anger swiped away back into an orderly, business-like façade. Naruto mentally twitched at how he was so easily discarded by the elder Uchiha. He really didn't know how he was related to Sasuke who was so friendly and fun. The blond didn't get to nudge into Itachi's and Hinata's conversation, the younger Uchiha pulling him into their own.

"So did you have a good time at the dance?" the pale boy asked, smoothly, not a hint of judging in his voice.

"Um…yeah. More than I thought actually," he answered, the reply not being to far from the truth.

"I didn't see much of you. Did you leave halfway through?"

"Yeah…"

Although he could see no deception in Sasuke's face, there was something about the question that made him feel defensive. It wasn't the first time he drew up his eyes to search the Uchiha's. He didn't know what was constantly drawing him to look within those onyx pools. They were like hooks that latched onto him and proceeded to reel him into those dark caverns.

"Are you one of those candy people?" Sasuke asked, his smile never faltering. "Couldn't miss out?"

"…Something like that…" Naruto replied, rather dazedly, feeling his thoughts going into a fog the longer he stared into the inky depths.

"Did you get everything you wanted?"

If Naruto wasn't so entranced in those hypnotic eyes, perhaps he would have picked up on the slight edge in Sasuke's voice and answered more delicately.

"Everything and more," was his response.

Naruto really didn't know what they were talking about anymore. He was subconsciously aware that candy had been mentioned but, he was too engrossed in the enigma that was Uchiha Sasuke's gaze to read into the deeper meaning of the conversation. It was only when those eyes he was so enveloped in hardened, that Naruto could draw himself out of his misty thoughts enough to tell that the _edible _candy was nonexistent in both of their thoughts.

"I have to get going," Itachi said to Sasuke, breaking the eye contact between him and Naruto. "I'll see you later."

Sasuke smiled, rather sadly Naruto thought, at Itachi's departure. The man gave Hinata polite farewells, a graceful smile upon his lips until he glanced at Naruto. His lips turned down into a firm line and the look in his soulless eyes reminded the blond of that murderous stare that Sasuke gave Zaku a few days earlier to get him off their backs.

This wasn't something new Naruto received. He'd gotten disdainful looks from high-standing people before. Hinata's cousin was a perfect example. He didn't quite understand why he got such a look from Sasuke's brother, a man he barely knew. Was it really just because of an accidental collision in the hall? No, he doubted someone could hold a grudge for such a tiny, idiotic thing as that.

"We should all probably get going," Sasuke suggested when Itachi had made his leave. "The bell's going to ring any second now."

Hinata nodded in resigned silence, a smile upon her face that troubled Naruto since he was not the one who put it there.

"Okay. Later Sasuke," Naruto said, placing his own smile upon his face despite the return of his conflicting feelings.

Sasuke nodded and Naruto noticed that those eyes he kept seeking out were discreetly avoiding his own. As he walked past he and his friend though, Naruto did not miss a tiny glimmer of betrayal in his unusual eyes.

* * *

_Should we hear the silence / Should we hear the noise / I don't need this blind acceptance / I have made my choice / Light lives in the darkness / Beauty lives in pain / In destruction we may lose ourselves / But still I will remain_


	6. CHAPTER 5 Haunted

~**Chapter V**~

_~Haunted~_

* * *

_Long lost words whisper slowly to me / Still can't find what keeps me here / When all this time I've been so hollow inside / I know you're still there_

* * *

It had been a bizarre day for Uzumaki Naruto. After that morning, every time the blond saw Sasuke, the boy always gave him a melancholy stare and continued on his way. He didn't get to question him about it at lunch - Lee was in his hyper-sad mode (a mode where he went into random rants to cover up how sad he was). There was no room for discussion.

Naruto was actually embarrassed. He didn't do a lot of things that he was ashamed of and he wasn't sure why he felt as such now. He had been thrilled to be with Sakura! It had been all he had wanted for the longest time. He wasn't sure why he felt so bad, especially because of Sasuke. Scrutiny had never been something that mattered to him before. He had no idea why, all of a sudden, his image meant so much to him.

All of his tempestuous thoughts washed out of his head, shortly after they came into existence, when his gaze fell upon the object of his worries.

"Sakura!" he called, instantly filled to the brim with joy and bliss.

He ran to catch up with her in the parking lot, to ecstatic to notice the sudden rigidity that entered her movements at the sound of his voice.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, through her teeth, when Naruto caught up with her, picking up the pace.

"I was heading home -"

"And you're talking to me because…?"

"Well…why wouldn't I talk to you?"

He was a little confused at the chilly, condescending sound in her voice and the way her eyes remained forward instead of on him.

"We slept together…"

Very abruptly, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to the side of the school, out of the wide open parking lot. She glanced around to make sure no one was listening before turning her suddenly excited gaze upon him.

"Did you tell him?"

She lost him now and he felt like a fish out of water, standing there with his mouth open and a dumb look on his face.

"…What?"

"Sasuke! Did you tell him about it?" she enthused, bouncing up and down in anticipation of his answer.

"…What the hell are you talking about Sakura?"

She groaned, dramatically, rolling her eyes and giving him the impression that he had missed out on something very important. He felt like a fool.

"Did you tell Sasuke about how great the sex was?"

"…Why would I do something like that?"

It took him a few moments to come up with answers to her confusing questions. When did Sasuke become a part of their conversation?

"Ugh! Naruto! What was the point of that if you haven't told Sasuke how amazing it was?"

He couldn't come up with any words to reply. He was at a loss for them. He wasn't sure if he was hearing her quite right. She wanted him to tell Sasuke how great their sex had been?

"I…don't understand…"

"Ergh!" she groaned, stamping her foot in irritation. "You were supposed to tell him how amazing I am at sex! How else am I going to make him want me?"

She started pacing, tangling her fingers in her cotton candy hair, muttering to herself in frustration. Her words kept echoing around his head, making so many questions click into place with these new answers. She'd slept with him just because he was friends with Sasuke? She just wanted Sasuke to hear about her and go seeking her?

"You used me?" he whispered, not recognizing his hollow voice as the reality of what she was saying plowed through him.

Sakura dropped her hands from her hair, crossing her arms over her chest, shaking her head, and nibbling her lip in concentration. The more she continued to mumble to herself, the more his blood boiled in hurt and anger.

"It was never about me. It was always about Sasuke!"

"Of course it was about Sasuke you idiot!"

Her jade eyes flashed onto him, blazing with deceit and malice.

"Didn't you get it the first time?" she seethed, her words like venom in his heart. "I don't want anything to do with you! I don't date losers like you! Get that through your thick head already!"

She turned on her heel and marched away leaving him in a heartbroken haze. He should have known! he kept screaming at himself. How could he be so naïve? They'd broken up for a reason and this was exactly it. She couldn't stay with one person without getting bored. The only reason she did anything to make him happy was just so that she remained satisfied in the end.

Her fading footsteps against the pavement were like taunting jeers in his ears and trampling over his heart.

* * *

The car ride to go meet the Countess later that night was silent. Itachi's eyes remained fixed upon the road through the windshield, although his mind was more on Sasuke beside him. The teenager seemed intent upon the passing objects in the passenger window, flickering eyes capturing every detail to distract himself from his companion. Both were rigid in their leather seats, silence enveloping the car interior.

They'd argued upon coming home from school, Sasuke being very upset with his brother's manners that morning in regards to Naruto. They didn't argue much, not without banging it out later in the bedroom. The fact that Sasuke had remained as far away as immortally possible from him after the "verbal debate" made Itachi feel freaked out. He was a patient man after so many decades and could be very intimidating to get what he wanted but, not with Sasuke. When the boy was mad at him, it was hard _not _to melt into a mushball, begging for forgiveness. He could no longer bear it as they pulled up before the bar they'd meet the Countess in.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted, _despising _himself for how desperate and human he sounded.

"Lying only makes it worse," Sasuke sighed, unbuckling the seatbelt he never needed.

"I'm not lying," Itachi said, closing his eyes and clutching the steering wheel, careful not to snap it into pieces. "I really am sorry."

"Why? You weren't before," Sasuke pointed out, examining his flawless fingernails.

"I am now. If I'd known you'd act like this, the course of action I took this morning would have never crossed my mind."

"You shouldn't be polite just for me. It should just be something _you _want to do because it's nice."

Itachi had no defense for that, staring forward again, ashamed of himself for letting his brother down. A short silence resumed again before Itachi turned to Sasuke, watching the younger coming up with ways of avoiding eye contact. The older of the two reached over and grasped the other's hand.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, with more feeling this time than before.

Sasuke looked up to meet his obsidian gaze, offering forgiveness within his own.

"You better be," he mumbled, unable to keep the amused smirk off of his face.

"You were faking!" Itachi realized, eyes widening in shock as Sasuke burst into a fit of giggles. "You don't care at all how I treat your friends do you?"

"No, no! Of course I do! I just really didn't care about this morning."

"You evil little -"

Itachi snatched at Sasuke but, the latter leapt out of the vehicle before he could get caught. Rolling his eyes at his brother's antics, Itachi joined him in the parking lot, smiling at how Sasuke was spinning around in the crisp night.

"Ahh," the boy sighed, turning his face up to the moon. "I _love _the night. It's so fresh and free."

"I know. You've told me," Itachi chuckled.

"Have I?"

"Over five hundred times at least."

Itachi appeared by Sasuke's side, halting his twirling and bringing his moonlit face to see him.

"I am sorry about how I treated your friend this morning," he apologized again. "I was a bit frustrated, especially with this mysterious murder. He didn't deserve my snappishness."

"Maybe he did," Sasuke disagreed with a shrug, making Itachi raise an elegant brow. "I wasn't happy with him anyway."

"Wow! You do have a sadistic side."

"Don't act so surprised."

Both laughing, the two entered the bar, instantly wrinkling their noses at the stench, their recently pleasant moods killed.

"It just had to be a bar," Itachi sighed, sweeping his gaze over the area in disgust.

There weren't many people there. Out of that few, the Countess was not among them.

"She better not be late," Itachi mumbled through his teeth.

"She wouldn't be our Countess if she was on time, now would she?" Sasuke retorted, a smile in place as he headed to the bar counter to speak to one of the bartenders. "Excuse me. Did a woman with blonde hair and brown eyes come in here by any chance?"

He didn't know why the pink hair wasn't a dead ringer to him. When the girl turned around, he recognized Haruno Sakura from school: the same Haruno Sakura he suspected was leading his new friend on. He didn't let the recognition cross his features, keeping a complacent look instead, reminding himself to be polite. It didn't surprise him when her eyes flashed into life as she recognized him.

"Oh, hi Sasuke!" she gasped and he twitched at the high pitch of her voice.

"Yeah, hi. Can you please answer my question?"

She remained staring at him, opening and closing her mouth as if she were on the verge of going into a long-winded speech. He tapped his fingers against the countertop, hoping she would realize he was impatient and answer his damn question already. She did take notice, suddenly smoothing out her hair and tugging at her clothes.

"Sorry?" she asked, putting on a sicky-sweet voice and batting her eyes.

It was at this point where Sasuke wanted to slap himself in the face. Why did he even bother?

"Did a woman with blonde hair and brown eyes come through here at all?" he asked again, slower this time.

"…You'll have to be more specific…" she giggled, pulling her tiny black skirt down, pretending to make it a nervous reflex.

"She's the mayor of the town and has a pet pig! Is she here or not?" Itachi interjected, throwing more force in his voice and not hesitating to glare at her.

She was definitely intimidated, faltering and stumbling a step back in fright. She gulped and recovered a little bit.

"M-Mayor Tsunade?" she stammered, nodding her head, shakily. "She's over in the back booth."

She pointed to a few curtained off sections of the bar, trembling immensely.

"Thank you," Sasuke said, politely, pushing off of the counter and heading that way.

"W-Wait!" she called, leaping to the counter, leaning over so she was practically laying on it. "Don't you want a drink?"

She asked it in a husky voice, laced with lust. Itachi snorted in disdain and Sasuke shook his head at her ridiculous actions. They went past one of the curtained off areas, finding who they were searching for seated in the dark booth.

"'Bout time you two showed up," the woman barked, throwing her head back to gulp down the contents of a bottle.

"It's nice to see you too, Countess," Sasuke greeted, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice at her lack of manners.

"Sit down!" she offered, flapping her hand to the seats on the other side of the booth table.

Already able to tell this was going to be rough, the two brothers did as she ordered. Sasuke nodded to Tsunade's brunette attendant beside her in greeting. The young woman replied with a smile, stroking the plump pig in her lap.

"Have a drink!" Tsunade exclaimed, raising her bottle in delight.

"How much?" Sasuke sighed to Shizune, the drunken woman's assistant.

"Only two bottles and about five shots," the brunette answered, sending her charge a scolding glare.

"Why do you have to be so honest Shizune?" Tsunade growled, the drunken slur in her voice suddenly removed.

"Did you really think you could get out of talking with us just by pretending to be drunk?" Itachi sighed, already feeling miserable in this woman's presence.

Her blazing, bronze gaze slid to Itachi, glaring an inferno at the eldest Uchiha.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with your smug attitude tonight," she said, fiercely. "I have enough on my plate as it is."

"We won't take up much of your time," Sasuke piped in, sniffing at one of the bottles.

His eyes shifted colors as the familiar scent of their favorite red nectar wafted from the alcohol.

"You're really trying to get drunk?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow.

She smirked and fished out a small tin box. She popped it open and withdrew two, round, pink tablets, dropping them into one of the bottles of sake on the table.

"If you were running this town right now, you'd want to as well," Tsunade said, watching the tablets dissolve and turn the liquid a burgundy color.

"You mean the murder?"

"What else would I mean?" she cackled, humorlessly.

"Got any ideas of what may have happened?" Sasuke continued to ask, dark eyes fixed upon her.

"We have no suspects as of yet," she answered seriously, taking a short sip from her reddened bottle.

She placed it back on the table, throwing her ferocious gaze at the two of them, and asking, "Should I have a suspect?"

"No," Sasuke replied, firmly, Tsunade directing all of her attention upon the teenager. "That's what we came to tell you. We had nothing to do with that murder."

"You have an alibi?"

"We were at Konoha Public High School, in the cafeteria for the Halloween dance."

"We?"

Her eyes slipped to Itachi. The man had been silent throughout the meeting thus far. He held her coppery stare, making it abundantly clear, without saying anything, that Sasuke spoke the truth. Tsunade let out a big gust of air, collapsing back in her seat, sloshing the beverage around in her bottle.

"That just makes my job more difficult," she sighed.

"You think it was one of our kind?" Sasuke asked, softly, averting his gaze to the table.

"Unfortunately," she sighed again. "What no one knows in this town is that, not only were there three long marks across the body, but also two small holes in the neck."

Whether she meant to or not, her ivory teeth flashed slightly as she drew her head back to take another drink. This was news to Sasuke and just confirmed his fears.

"Will the police be able to handle it? They don't know what they're up against."

"Come now Sasuke!" the Countess laughed. "Do you honestly think my law enforcement officers are all human?"

The boy shared a flickered glance with his brother at this news.

"You mean…there's more than the four of us in this town?"

A sly smirk graced her pink lips as she raised her drink, bronze eyes flickering to the same color of the liquid.

"Hundreds," she said. "Which is why, you can see, it's so difficult to make a list of suspects."

* * *

Naruto didn't drink. His parents raised him better than that. He wasn't old enough and he followed the rules. Tonight, he had no rules, however. Tonight, he was willing to lose himself in alcohol. He just didn't care anymore. He had been used and all he wanted was to forget. He stalked to the entrance of the less popular bar in town. He hadn't been there before but, knew that they'd do anything to get money, even let minors in.

What he hadn't expected was to recognize anyone as he entered the musty bar. It was just his luck that the first person he saw when he walked in was the girl he was trying to forget. She was just emerging from a curtained off booth on the other side of the room, an empty tray in her hand and a blush upon her cheeks.

He went cold inside as her green eyes fell upon him. It was a long moment that tore Naruto to pieces inside. They both glared at each other, a frosty air passing between them. She was the one to break it, strutting across the room to the bar counter. He made that his destination as well, on the verge of exploding in rage. The other, greasy man behind the counter came to serve him, not asking any questions or giving him any judging looks.

He wouldn't know where to begin in ordering a drink at a bar. He was more focused on Sakura at the other end of the counter, hurriedly pulling a jacket over her bare shoulders. The man serving Naruto could easily tell what was bugging the kid and knew how to serve him accordingly without poisoning him. The blond, briefly glanced at the drink, a tiny voice in the back of his head that was probably his conscience, squeaking to him that he shouldn't drink it. It wasn't difficult to ignore it. He swiped the glass up and gulped the liquor down.

At first, he wanted to throw it back up. He squeezed his eyes shut to refrain from doing so, forcing the drink down his throat. He shook his head and brought himself back to the glass before him. How the hell was this satisfying to people? He persevered, however, hoping that somewhere along the line he would feel that buzz and lose all sense of coherent thought. The second swig was slightly less difficult to keep down and his head spun once. He was getting somewhere at least.

"Later boss! See you tomorrow."

He glanced down at Sakura, waving good-bye to the man that had served him. Her fake smile that he recognized so well was in place. She avoided looking at him as she passed to make her exit. The words that slipped past his lips were unintentional but, he didn't regret them.

"This job suits you," he seethed to her as she passed. "You're finally with the rest of the dirt in Konoha."

He wasn't sure if it was just his swirling mind or not but, he thought she faltered in her steps. She didn't face him so it was hard to tell if his words had any effect at all. She left the bar without a word and he returned to his glass. After his third gulp of the disgusting liquid, he thought he was hearing things because he recognized the dark, lyrical voice of Uchiha Sasuke. He turned around on his bar stool, a little to fast because he had to hold his woozy head at the rush of air. He spotted Sasuke and his brother, as well as the mayor and her secretary, emerging from the curtained off booth Sakura had stepped from earlier.

"Thank you for keeping the mansion standing for us," Sasuke was saying to Tsunade, a business-like smile on his face.

"God only knows why," the mayor grumbled, drawing a bottle of vermilion liquid to her lips.

"Admit it. It's because you love me, isn't it Tsunade?"

The woman chuckled at this, ruffling the boy's raven hair.

"Sure. That must be it," she said, sarcastically.

Tsunade bid the two farewell and left the bar, her assistant trailing after her and fussing over the amount of drink she'd consumed thus far. Once the two women were gone, the two brothers turned to each other.

"Don't ever make me see that woman again," Itachi growled to Sasuke.

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "As long as nothing else goes wrong, we shouldn't have to see her again."

"We better not."

"Oh come on! It wasn't _that _bad."

"She said I had a smug attitude!"

Sasuke said nothing at this and moved to leave the bar. Itachi followed, ranting about how much Tsunade supposedly hated him. They didn't appear to notice that Naruto was there. They left without acknowledging him. Head spinning in confusion, Naruto downed the rest of his drink.

"Thank God that's over," Itachi sighed in relief when he and Sasuke were outside, heading for their car.

"Quit complaining. I was the one that did all the talking," Sasuke pointed out, pulling his brother to a stop.

"I told you not to expect me to talk. Are we going home or not?"

"I want to go for a walk."

Sasuke smiled at his puzzled brother, the man glancing between the car and his brother multiple times.

"A walk?"

"Mmhm," Sasuke hummed, nodding his head. "Just the two of us."

"Just the two of us?"

Sasuke nodded again, his smile broadening.

"Is this going to be a romantic walk or a friendly, brotherly walk?"

"Don't ask questions you already know the answers to. It's kind of annoying."

"But…people might see," Itachi stated, a rather excited smirk crossing his lips.

"It's late. No one's on the streets. If we're careful, no one will see."

"Since when did you become such a bad boy?"

"Since I know I owe you for dragging you out here tonight."

"This is true."

"We'll come back for the car later."

"Sounds like a plan."

Smiling in delight, the two brothers laced their hands together and walked off into the night.

* * *

The chilly air whipped against her skin as she ran through the allies of Konoha. She struggled to keep her breath, choking on it sometimes, mixed with the icy air rushing into her lungs. It felt like a thousand needles were piercing her insides but, she could not stop running. She could still feel it around her. It was still following her; still hunting her. She couldn't see it and she could barely hear it. The torrent of air hissing past her as she ran swallowed up her ears.

There was no one else around her. There was no one she could run to. She couldn't scream. She'd lose her voice to the frosty air. It would be futile. All of her senses were telling her she was going to die. She could run all she wanted but, she would not be able to escape such a predator. No matter how much her mind knew she wasn't going to make it, her body kept running in a desperate attempt to keep her alive. A terrified sob ripped from her throat at the sound behind her; the dark, venomous laughter of her murderer.

She rounded the thousandth corner, she was sure, and her heart stopped with her feet. A tall brick wall stood in her way of survival. Her last tears came in a downpour, so many faces that she'd never see again, flashing through her head. There was a thump behind her and she whirled around to face her killer. The last thing she saw was a crooked smile of sharpened, ivory teeth and scarlet eyes set into a pale face framed in raven hair.

* * *

The easy laughter of the Uchiha brothers was instantly shattered by a shrill cry. They froze on the side walk, feet melding to the stone as the scent of blood splashed upon their senses. The scream echoed around them for what seemed like eons before Sasuke tore himself from his brother's side and bolted in the direction of the cry. He barely heard Itachi call for him, completely focused on the dying sound and fresh scent.

He rocketed three miles ahead before halting before the entrance of an alley. The sweet scent poured over him like a waterfall and his sight was veiled in red over the scene before him. Crouched in the alleyway was a dark figure over a body drowned in blood. The monster's mouth was upon the victim's neck, draining the life from her.

"Stop!" Sasuke found himself shout, the overpowering smell filling his mouth and making his teeth narrow in hunger.

The head of the creature snapped up at Sasuke's demand, face clothed in shadow and stained in red. A thrilled smile contorted the thing's face. It dropped the girl in its arms, her pink head cracking on the pavement. The monstrosity that now faced Sasuke held eyes burning in thirst and stood at an inhuman height. Sasuke could not see a face past the darkness, even with his all-seeing eyes. The grin on its face broadened and a hiss slid from its teeth. The sound crescendoed into a horrible roar, making Sasuke flinch back in horror.

From the back of the grotesque being, leathery wings sprouted in the shape of a bat's. Sasuke recognized them with chilling horror. Such monstrous wings were only whispered in horror stories by his kind. The wingspan on this one was at least ten feet per wing, making the terrible creature seem even larger than before. With another twisted howl and a powerful thrust, the monster sprang up and soared away into the cover of the night sky.

Sasuke's dead heart was racing in horror, his senses still flooded with the scent of blood. His red eyes were drawn to the torn body in the alley. Steps trembling, he approached her, knowing full well who she was. When at her side, his thudding heart jumped as he recognized three long cuts across her bloody body and two small marks against her neck. Her green eyes were opened wide, staring in shock at nothing. It was hard to resist the crimson liquid bleeding out of her. He had never seen so much before, pouring all at once from one human.

He hadn't expected her to move. Suddenly, her bloody hand grasped his shirt, pulling him down to his knees. She gasped for air, eyes staring at his face in terror, her lips trying to form a word in her dying breath. Sasuke didn't know what to do. He tried not to breathe in the scent wafting from her ravaged body. She held onto him, trying to hold onto life, struggling to get a single word past her lips.

* * *

Naruto had abandoned the bar after coming to the realization that what he was doing was wrong. There were plenty of other ways to destroy your sorrows instead of getting drunk. It was upon turning a certain corner though, that he half wished he had remained in the safety of the bar. Every fiber of his being froze and his heart skipped in fright.

Laid out before him was a gruesome sight. Laying in the alley, bleeding to death, was Haruno Sakura. Standing above her, with the face of a demon, was Uchiha Sasuke. The blood was vibrantly clear upon his white shirt but, the thing that frightened Naruto the most, was the silver fangs peeking from his snow white lips and the blood red eyes that were staring right at him.

It was a nightmare, Naruto insisted to himself. This wasn't really happening. But, his senses refused to deny it. It was all too real. He could hear her choking breaths, smell the rusty scent of her blood, and could see the image before him to clearly.

"Sasuke!"

The demonic boy's gaze whipped away from Naruto and to the dead end on the other side of the alley. There perched Itachi, eyes the same bloody red as Sasuke's. The blood-stained Uchiha turned back to Naruto, trembling in fright.

"You killed her," Naruto rasped, unable to control his body.

Sasuke's head shook from side to side, a shaky movement just like the rest of his body.

"You killed her!"

This time, Naruto screamed it at him, his recently frozen blood boiling over in rage, molten tears running down his cheeks. Sasuke backed away from Sakura's convulsing body, red eyes wide as he stared at Naruto. The boy ran to the dying girl, Itachi pulling Sasuke up beside him and vanishing into the night.

"Sakura!" Naruto wailed, falling beside the girl and grasping her blood-soaked hand.

She struggled to speak, dying eyes staring up at the black sky.

"V-V-V…Va…V-V-Va…"

"Sakura! Sakura! Its okay! You're going to be okay!" he insisted, desperately, turning her deathly pale face to look at him.

The flickering light in her eyes died when they fell upon him and a single word slid past her lips in her last breath.

"Vampire."

* * *

_Watching me / Wanting me / I can feel you pull me down / Fearing you / Loving you / I won't let you pull me down_


	7. CHAPTER 6 Hello

**~Chapter VI~**

_~Hello~_

* * *

_Playground school bell rings again / Rain clouds come to play again / Has no one told you she's not breathing / Hello, I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to / Hello_

* * *

"Sakura! Sakura! Come on, get up!"

No matter how cold her skin got nor how much blood leaked from her open wounds, it would not register in Naruto's mind that he had lost her. He was in shock and unable to comprehend anything in the reality surrounding him. His mouth could not stay shut. He kept calling for her, desperately trying to draw her back with his words, no matter how illogical he knew it to be. He was trembling in terror; terror at losing someone else he loved and terror at _what _he knew had caused such devastation. As he gazed at her ravaged body, those ivory teeth flashed in his mind's eye and those red eyes branded themselves in his head.

His torrential thoughts erratically shifted from his agonizing sorrow to his unbridled fury. What was going to happen to him now? The only girl he'd ever loved had been taken from him by a monster that he'd been calling his friend. What was to become of him? What would he do? His stinging eyes continued to gaze at the shredded corpse in his arms. He became deaf to his own, pleading words and he went numb of feeling the longer he sat there. The damp walls of the buildings stretching up around him seemed to narrow in on him as his horror continued to grow. The flood of blood, pooling on the cold ground, soaked against his knees. The heavy, grotesque sent made him want to vomit. It was like nothing he'd ever experienced before.

The only inkling he had of the arrival of police forces was the red and blue lights reflecting from her dead gaze. No matter what, he could not tear his gaze away from her still, severed body. He was unaware of the masses of people rushing around him and the frantic shouting echoing back from the building walls. Everything around him was blank. All he could see was her and the gray pallor to her skin…the blood running from her flesh; the last scene of that monster's face exploded into his mind suddenly and with it, came the blaring sounds around him. Awareness seeped into his brain and he could make out the new objects around him, though they were hazy.

There were three police cars blocking the entrance to the alley, he comprehended. Two ambulances were crammed into the narrow space. Officers and medics rushed about, pointing and shouting out orders. It registered with him that he was detached from her. He was far away from her and solemn-faced detectives were stooped over her. A tiny snap clicked in his head and, mechanically, he moved to return to her. He was forced back by a pair of firm hands against his shoulders that made him start in shock.

"No, Naruto. Stay still," a familiar voice commanded him.

Despite the familiarity Naruto felt in regards to the sound, he could not place it fully. Even when Kakashi's face appeared in his line of sight, he couldn't quite piece it together that he knew the man. Subconsciously, he supposed he knew he was on the verge of falling completely into shock. It seemed very unimportant in comparison to what he had witnessed, however. The longer he had to process the images, the faster his grief developed more and more into hate.

"I saw him," the raspy whisper erupted from his dry throat.

Kakashi scrutinized him for a moment, thinking that it was the shock that made him claim such a thing.

"You need to rest Naruto," he murmured, calmly. "This hasn't been easy for you. Come on. I'll take you to the hospital."

"I saw him," Naruto said again, stronger this time as he caught a glimpse of the tattered body beyond the detective's shoulder. "And when I see him again, he'll be the one that ends up dead."

* * *

Icy stillness shrouded Raiden Hill and froze the refurbished beams and bricks of the Sarutobi Mansion. Nothing stirred within the walls. Not a sound emerged. Sasuke sat, perched on the end of his bed, as motionless as his surroundings. He tried to sort out what would happen next. He'd witnessed a murder tonight. He'd seen something that he'd never seen before in his many, many years. He still could not figure out what exactly the monster had been that had ripped the life from Haruno Sakura. It drank blood like he did and it had those wings…

"Drink."

Itachi was at his side, like a phantom materializing from empty air. In his alabaster hand, he offered his brother a red-filled glass, holding the crystal bottle in the other. With the heavy scent of spilled blood still burning through his senses, Sasuke had no choice but to accept, lest he fall into the clutches of bloodlust. Like an arctic wind, Sasuke swept the glass from Itachi. In the same motion, he drew it to his marble lips and drank.

Both creatures were silent as each of them drank, Sasuke from his glass and Itachi straight from the flask. The younger's glass never remained empty for long, the older swiftly refilling it before the last drop was gone each time. As the sweet liquid exploded through his cold veins, Sasuke began to draw farther away from the brink of losing himself to his feral cravings.

"You burned our clothes," Sasuke stated to Itachi, russet gaze planted on the wall as opposed to the man beside him.

"There will be no evidence that we were there," Itachi confirmed, glancing at the fresh clothes they each wore now.

"Except that I called them."

The sharp crack of the crystal vial in Itachi's hand resounded around the room. Sasuke continued to look away from him, listening to the near silent jagged break, narrowing away to scar the crystal, as opposed to the angry grit of Itachi's ivory canines.

"Called who?" came the menacing question, hissed through the razor sharp teeth.

"The police," Sasuke replied, coolly, finishing what was left in his glass.

"Why?"

"If you hold that any tighter, it will shatter and you'll make a mess."

Sasuke did not answer his question, snatching the slightly damaged bottle from Itachi before its contents exploded onto the floor. He darted away to the mini bar before Itachi could lift a hand to scold him. He returned the empty glass and cracked flask to their original positions. Rather stupidly, he fiddled with the other glasses to prolong him returning to his brother. His porcelain fingers grazed the edges of the clear shapes, intricately twisting along on their way around. The property resumed frigid silence and, if he didn't spy the movement in a glass's reflection, even Sasuke wouldn't have heard Itachi approaching him. The younger Uchiha moved to go to the windows but, his brother was much faster, gripping his arm and tugging him back around.

"Stop," Itachi ordered, dark eyes intense with seriousness though, Sasuke refused to see it.

He fixed his gaze on everything _but _Itachi. He detested when his brother was angry with him. It didn't happen a lot, the last time being _many _decades earlier. He wasn't prepared for it. He never coped well when Itachi was mad at him, whether he was ready or not. His breath caught in his throat in anticipation as Itachi jerked him around to look at him. Sasuke struggled not to flinch when he finally met his brother's stormy gaze. He tried to meet it as defiantly as he could but, he knew it was wavering.

"Sasuke. _Why _did you call them."

It was not a question. The man was _ordering _him to give him an answer. This made Sasuke's blood ice over as opposed to boil up. He was mixed with feelings of anger, hurt, and something else that he couldn't find a name for.

"The faster they got there, the fresher the scene would be," Sasuke replied, firmly, flaring at Itachi. "They need all the evidence they can get."

"Do you _want _them to run us out of town?"

Itachi's voice rose in volume with his words and Sasuke could spot the glint of his sharper teeth with the ferocity. His stomach tightened for a reason he could not explain and he was finding it harder to stare him down.

"They have no reason to," he fought to say. "We didn't kill her – "

"It's not going to look that way if they find something that traces back to us!"

"I'm not going to apologize!"

Sasuke tore himself away from his angry brother in distress. It didn't take long at all for him to breakdown beneath Itachi's scolding words. Stomach churning and throat clasping, the younger sibling resumed his seat on the edge of the bed for lack of a better spot to flee to. His reaction was bizarre to him. He was quite unaccustomed to feelings such as these and he wasn't even sure if half of them were remotely related to his brother's harshness.

He hated this. He hated not knowing what was wrong with him. He hated feeling so powerless. It was degrading really. He was so much stronger than that. He didn't understand why it was so difficult for him to keep himself under control. He felt so _human_! He was shuddering and he didn't know if it was out of anger, fright, or sadness.

Itachi was keen to the shaking and it troubled him. He instantly questioned the justification for his outburst. The older of the two flitted to Sasuke's side, his anger and stress ebbing away to concern.

"I'm sorry," he immediately apologized, thinking it was he that had caused such a reaction from Sasuke. "I didn't mean to yell at you. Don't get upset, please."

"I couldn't do anything," Sasuke whispered, vaguely realizing and accepting what exactly was making him hurt so much.

Beings such as them usually never repeated themselves for there never was a need to do so. Their acute ears always picked up and registered the words the first time around. At this moment, however, Itachi was lost as to what his brother was saying.

"What?" he asked before he could contain it, mentally twitching at the irritating mortality of the word.

"I couldn't do anything," he repeated, more to let himself know his turmoil as opposed to clarifying for Itachi.

The older individual was still puzzled at Sasuke's repeated words. It didn't usually take him so long to figure such things out. It was very troubling to him. He wasn't sure what to say to bring a solid statement from his brother.

"We're supposed to be so fast," Sasuke went on, unaware of Itachi's quest to find out what was on his mind and strictly explaining it all to himself. "We're supposed to be so strong and can do anything but…I could do nothing to help. I just stood there."

Itachi remained in frigid silence beside Sasuke, carefully absorbing his words and understanding what was gnawing at his thoughts. He felt guilty, Itachi realized. He felt that he could have done more and saved the girl's life.

"I've never done that before," Sasuke continued, softly, his shuddering receding as he slowly came to terms with what was bothering him. "I've never hesitated like that before. I got there and just…watched. I know I didn't like her and she was annoying but…she didn't deserve to die. Especially not like that. _No one _deserves that! Why didn't I try to stop it?"

At this point, Itachi moved to comfort him, placing his porcelain-like hand over Sasuke's quivering one. The latter did not appear to take much notice, still lost in remembrance of the recent bloody event.

"And now he thinks _I _killed her. And he knows what we are…"

Sasuke's voice broke, slightly, at this realization and he suddenly knew what precisely he was feeling. It was fear. He was afraid of what would happen to him and Itachi now that someone knew about them. He hadn't been afraid of anything in quite some time, which explained why the sensation was so alien to him. He was terrified and he didn't know how to stop himself from feeling like so.

"Sasuke?" Itachi queried, quietly, squeezing said companion's hand slightly, so as to gain his attention.

After a pause in the still air, the younger brother turned to Itachi, comprehending that he was beside him – perhaps – for the first time. Itachi sighed at the broken look in Sasuke's now onyx eyes. It was difficult to adjust to this frightened state. He hadn't had to comfort him from such an emotion since their very early days as princes of the night. He quickly shoved the memory of the last time Sasuke was so scared to the far reaches of his mind and focused on the present.

"We're not gods," Itachi murmured, reaching up to twine his fingers in Sasuke's raven bangs. "No matter how indestructible we are, we're still not perfect. It is not our purpose in this world to decide who lives and who dies."

"But, that murderer has a right to do so?" Sasuke retorted, sharper than he intended.

Itachi had no reply at first, thinking out his next words very meticulously, his firm gaze remaining on his own fingers, twisting in Sasuke's hair.

"Every once in a while," he finally responded, "a monster is spawned into the world that takes it upon himself to twist the fate of others to his desire. It's not right but, there's not much we can do. We know little of what is happening and even less about the threat. The best thing we can do is let things play out without interference."

"Too late for that," Sasuke mumbled, folding his hands in his lap.

"You just wanted to help," Itachi reassured him, maneuvering his hand and placing his fingers under his chin. "It was very generous of you to call the police."

"But, now they're going to suspect us. It's all my fault. You were right."

"No, no, no, no, no!" Itachi insisted, cupping his lover's face in both of his hands and making Sasuke look at him. "It's _not _your fault. Don't blame yourself for _anything _and forget what I said. It was wrong."

"But…what if we get run out of town? Is that what happened last time?"

"No! No," Itachi chuckled at Sasuke's slight display of panic. "We never got run out of anywhere and we never will. Honesty's the best course of action in this situation. You're right, we haven't done anything. As long as we know that we're innocent and as long as you witnessed it, I think we'll be okay."

Sasuke was not convinced. With the image of Sakura's murder still fresh in his mind, he didn't see how anything could possibly be okay.

* * *

Naruto didn't know how or when he had dropped into unconsciousness or how long he remained as so. What he did know when he dragged himself into the waking world, was that he was trapped in his least favorite place on the planet and his heart was trampled to pieces. He blinked a few times to adjust to the fluorescent, buzzing lights suspended over the stark white bed he was nestled in. He despised hospitals. The attentive neatness and freakish whiteness always made him feel like he was an experiment in a science lab.

It was hard to focus on his distaste for the white room surrounding him when his thoughts were still flooded with red. He didn't want to think of her. It hurt him to much to imagine her but, he knew it was inevitable that she would be in his thoughts. It was hard to forget the murder of the girl you loved…and the face of the one who killed her.

"You're awake! About time."

Naruto glanced up at the relieved voice, finding Kakashi approaching him from the door. He was not his usual Kakashi self, however. The first thing Naruto noticed was that his usually lax shoulders were tensed up. Plus, although his visible eye was smiling, Naruto knew it was not the same beneath the mask. The detective was worried and he had good reason to be the blond supposed. With Sakura's murder appearing identical to the previous victim, it was safe to _officially _say that there was a serial killer running around Konoha. If only it were that straight-forward, Naruto thought.

"Do I dare ask how you feel?" Kakashi sighed as he took a seat in the empty chair beside the bed.

No matter how amused he was by the man's natural sarcastic edge, Naruto could not muster a smile or an answer. This immediately killed Kakashi's light-hearted demeanor and he melted into seriousness.

"I'm sorry Naruto."

"How long have I been here?" Naruto asked, curtly changing the subject.

Though his diamond blue eyes were fixed upon the opposing wall, Naruto could almost see the regretful collapse in the detective's features.

"Not long. About a day," was Kakashi's subdued response.

"Why was I out?"

"You were going into shock and the paramedics had to sedate you to get you here."

Naruto vaguely remembered socking someone in the eye within the confines of an ambulance. Oops.

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"It depends upon whether or not there's something wrong with you. If there isn't, you could be released today. But, then you'd be under police watch for a bit to answer questions and provide information."

The blond nodded, slightly, in vague understanding. He continued to attempt to fill his head with thoughts of himself and his condition but, it was to no avail. He didn't know how he was supposed to distract himself from his morbid memories or how he was going to get accustomed to the fact that she was gone and he had to continue on in his life without her.

"Will you be alright if I step out for a moment?" Kakashi asked him. "I want to fetch a nurse so you can get checked out."

"Are you sure you're getting a nurse for me or will she be for you?"

There was a pause and as Naruto glanced at him, he realized Kakashi was trying to figure out if he was kidding or bitterly insulting. Naruto struggled to force a smile upon his face to reassure the detective.

"Kidding Kakashi," he chuckled, half-heartedly, not understanding why the man seemed conflicted.

Kakashi appeared to relax at this in relief and Naruto couldn't figure out why exactly he was so stressed about him. At least, that's what he assumed was what had him so worried. It could have been the murders, he supposed. It was just that Naruto had never seen the man stressed about his work so it was hard to think that that was the problem. Once he stepped out, the boy's mind began to swim with the entire ordeal. Although it knotted him up inside to think about it, he knew he had to sort it all out and determine what he was going to do next.

The first thing that bounced into his head – though he knew it was irrelevant in light of other information – was Halloween night, when he'd "reunited" with Haruno Sakura, the sole object of his devotion and adoration. Everything had seemed so good that night. Granted, none of it had intentionally been for his benefit but, for some twisted reason, he had felt right with it. He had completely disregarded how insignificant he really was to her and had relished in having her back and dreaming of starting again.

These memories made him close his eyes and brought a distraught smile to his dry lips. He would never feel that again, he determined. No matter how distorted their connection was, it was a connection nonetheless. No one else could relate to him in such a way. No one else was as selfish and irrational, contorted and hysterical as the one and only Haruno Sakura. He would probably never understand why such attributes had enticed him in when they were so wrong and negative. Maybe there was something wrong with him. Maybe he was sick and thought wrong was right.

Then, at that last thought, the memory of a fang-faced Uchiha Sasuke, drenched in blood that wasn't his, pronounced itself in his mind's eye. In addition to that, there was the memory of her last word echoing around the image of his face.

**"**_**Vampire**_**."**

How could it be true? Vampires were things of legend and fantasy. There was no such thing! They were tales to frighten children and entertain the public. Not so, Naruto thought, cynically. Was Sasuke really a vampire? It was so difficult to wrap his mind around it. He was scared, he realized. Anyone would be, wouldn't they? This was an unbelievable discovery! The world wasn't as thin as he had thought, it seemed. There were things hidden deep within the world that were straight from his imagination. He could not deny what he had seen that night. He would never forget those crimson irises or those icicle sharp fangs glinting past the blood staining his body. Naruto shuddered at the nightmarish image.

What troubled him the most was the thrill he felt at this possibility. It would be incredible if the Uchihas were vampires. So many questions filed themselves in his head: Were they immortal? How long had they lived? How did they walk in the daytime? Did they have reflections? How strong were they? How fast? How smart? Were they allergic to garlic? Did they sleep in coffins? Did wooden stakes really work on them? He _felt _his heart racing more than he heard it on the monotonous heart monitor. What was he supposed to do? Did he tell Kakashi about the Uchihas? Would he believe him? He barely believed himself!

As Kakashi reentered the room with a nurse at his heels, Naruto decided not to tell him about his fantastical suspicions of the Uchihas. Not yet, at least. Kakashi was a detective. He required evidence to take accusations seriously, especially such a ridiculous one as Naruto had.

"Good afternoon Naruto," the nurse greeted him as she positioned herself beside the bed, glancing at all the machines monitoring him. "Are you feeling alright today?"

"Fine."

Physically, yeah, he was sure he'd live. Mentally, however, he was afraid would never be the same.

* * *

The steady, frustrated tapping of Tsunade's heels against the floor was like the ticking of a time bomb to Sasuke. She was more terrifying than the entire Council combined when she was this angry. So it was pretty scary. Even Itachi was silent beside him on the leather couch, intently watching the Countess in anticipation of her explosion. This was as opposed to taunting her and snapping at her which he usually did when they met.

It was the morning after Sakura's brutal murder and, as far as he knew, Konoha was oblivious to her death. Though the streets were walked in subdued silence, no one was yet aware of her absence, it seemed. Sasuke figured Tsunade was making sure it stayed quiet, from the people at least. She didn't want to cause mass panic. She _did_, however, want to tear someone's head off, that being the reason she was pacing around the Uchihas' living room, presently. The two brothers continued to sit, side by side, in silence, following her repetitive movements with their obsidian eyes. Shizune and Tonton stood off to the side, the assistant observing the three and the pig snuffling around in a corner. The room was tense and cold with their combined lack of body heat.

"You told me that you had nothing to do with the first murder," the angry woman began into the silence, her voice bold and full of authority and her dark topaz gaze steady and blazing.

"We didn't," Sasuke dared to speak up, defensively.

"Another girl died last night, identically to the one found by Kiba Drive," she stated again.

"We know," Itachi responded, evenly.

"How could you?"

She turned to face them full on, her molten stare encasing the both of them. Sasuke glanced at Itachi beside him, wondering if he wanted him to tell the truth or not. Itachi did not meet his glance, continuing to scrutinize the Countess.

"We were there," Sasuke answered her, casting his black gaze to the crimson, carpeted floor.

"You were there," Tsunade repeated, the hint of a disgusted chortle in her voice.

"We were just leaving the bar after our meeting and we heard a scream…"

Sasuke was fully prepared for the mayor to interrupt him and scream obscenities at them without hearing the entire story but, she surprised him.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Go on," she demanded, stock-still as she awaited his explanation.

The younger Uchiha found himself glancing at his lover, yet again. This time, Itachi was already gazing at him and he reached over to give his hand an encouraging squeeze. Nodding in understanding, Sasuke turned back to Tsunade and met her blazing stare more confidently.

"Itachi and I went for a walk after the meeting with you at the bar last night. When we were a couple blocks away we heard a scream up ahead, followed by the heavy scent of blood. I ran ahead to see what had happened. I stopped in the entranceway to an alley. There, I found a dark figure stooped over Haruno Sakura's body, drinking her blood. I told it to stop and it turned to look at me but, I couldn't recognize a man's face. Its jaws were large and every tooth was sharp. The rest was contorted and hidden in shadows. I couldn't identify if it was of our kind. Then, it spread big bat wings and took off."

He paused when he saw shock and perhaps fear flicker across Tsunade's features. He also sensed Shizune tensing up from where she was standing behind him. He went on when no one said anything to stop him.

"I went to the girl, half drawn by the blood and half hoping I could do something to save her. Her blood got onto my clothes so when Naruto got there –"

"Naruto? Uzumaki Naruto?" Tsunade bit out, every part of her tight at each section of his tale.

Sasuke nodded and she stared at him. It was a silent command for him to continue.

"When he got there, the girl was still dying and – because of the blood – my eyes were red and my canines were elongated. With the addition of her blood on my clothes, he thought I had killed her. I tried to tell him it wasn't me but, he was too distraught to listen. Itachi retrieved me then and we abandoned the scene. I called the police afterwards because I was hoping they could help and I wanted them to get as much evidence as they could."

When he had finished, the room was shrouded in silence once again. After identifying that the look Tsunade sent to Shizune did in fact contain fear, Sasuke scooted closer to Itachi, seeking his silent comfort. The elder brother complied, slipping his arm around Sasuke's waist and gently tugging him closer.

"You said that the killer had wings?" Tsunade asked of Sasuke, without looking at him, her gaze locked with her assistant's.

"Yes," he replied. "They were large and bat-like, protruding from the back. Do you know what it is?"

"Yes," the blonde answered, closing her eyes as she attempted to gather her bearings.

This information had appeared to frighten the usually fearless Countess. Sasuke waited for her to voice her thoughts. The wings had seemed familiar to him as well but, he could not recall why.

"It sounds as if our killer is an immortal that has obtained the Forbidden Flight," Tsunade said, slowly, as if she was having a difficult time processing what she had discovered.

"That's an old legend from many centuries ago," Itachi retorted before Sasuke could. "The Forbidden Flight does not exist."

"Do you believe your brother or not?" the Countess shot back, her temper flaring up but, not at Itachi's disagreement, Sasuke noticed.

Since she had said it, Sasuke did recall the old story, teaching young immortals such as them to beware of bloody promises. As he remembered it, the legend was about a vampire thousands of years ago that wanted more power than he already had as a member of the undead. As the humans around him developed new philosophies and questioned the abilities of man, this vampire questioned the abilities of his kind. He could do everything but fly, he concluded and so, he strove to obtain flight. He went to the Council with his plot to discover vampiric flight but, they forbid him from seeking such a thing, saying that creatures such as them were cursed with enough power. Anymore would drive their race mad.

The greedy vampire refused to heed the Council's warnings and broke the number one rule of the immortal society: he met with the Devil for the second time. Seeing as Lucifer had already granted them eternal life, for their own safety, the vampire race had made an unspoken pact to never see the Black Man again, for fear of testing his patience and losing their immortal privileges. The vampire that wanted to fly selfishly defied this law and met the Devil in the forests by himself. He asked him to give him wings and, with a grin on his face, Lucifer granted his wish. However, with every wish, there came a consequence. Every time the vampire spread his new wings, he lost control of his conscience and blindly attacked any and everything that came across his path, including ones of his own kind.

Thus, his wings were branded as the Forbidden Flight and his story was repeated to set an example of why the Council's laws must be upheld.

"So the legend is true?" Sasuke asked Tsunade. "It's possible to gain wings from the Devil?"

"No."

"Yes."

Itachi and Tsunade both answered at the same time, Itachi for the negative and Tsunade for the positive. This brought the two to scowl at one another.

"Is it true or not?" Sasuke asked Tsunade a second time, thrusting his elbow in Itachi's side, warning him to keep quiet.

"Yes," Tsunade replied again, intensely. "There was such an immortal that was conned by Lucifer. He now resides in the bowels of Hell but, clearly his philosophy was welcomed by another."

"But, the first attack was so well-planned out," Sasuke argued. "There was thought behind it and it was intelligently crafted. It hasn't been anything like a blind slaughter."

"Then we're dealing with something we've never experienced before. This murderer was an intelligent mind and is obviously trying to get a message across."

"What are you going to do Milady?" Shizune queried, coming around to stand by her mistress, Tonton at her heels.

"I'm not sure," the Countess sighed, shaking her head in dismay. "Until we can find out more, I fear that we're powerless to fight this thing."

* * *

_Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping / Hello I'm still here / All that's left from yesterday_


	8. CHAPTER 7 Mad World

~**Chapter VII**~

~_Mad World_~

* * *

_All around me are familiar faces / Worn out places, worn out faces / Bright and early for the daily races / Going no where, going no where / And the tears are filling up their glasses / No expression, no expression / Drown my head I want to drown my sorrows / No tomorrow, no tomorrow_

* * *

Naruto had stayed in the hospital a day more after his entry. He would be released the morning of Wednesday, November 5th. He wouldn't be attending classes at school for about a week and a half. Kakashi would not allow him to do so. He didn't mind or anything. He knew he would require a break. He doubted he'd be very competent if he returned so soon after such an experience.

He wasn't allowed visitors the first day he was in the hospital. It was a Monday anyway so everyone was at school. He didn't mind or anything. He really didn't want to talk to anyone just yet. The severity of the event was just barely beginning to sink in on him. He needed time alone before he could answer his friends' excessive questions.

On Tuesday, the second day of his "imprisonment," he was very surprised to have Hinata enter his room so early. It was nine o' clock in the morning when she arrived. Classes had started a few hours earlier. She should have been in school.

"Hinata, what are you doing here? You do know it's a school day, right?" Naruto said to her as she crossed the room to stand by his bed.

"I'm fully aware," she replied, a soft smile alighting on her features. "I wanted to keep you company though."

"You've never missed a day of school in your life!"

"It's one day. Besides, I asked Lee to get me my homework."

Naruto could not help but chuckle at this. When Lee was on the job, there was no fear of failure.

"I brought you something," Hinata started, lifting up a brown paper bag that he hadn't noticed she'd been holding. "Take-out from Ichiraku."

"Thank God! _Real _medicine."

Hinata giggled at his joy and the soft sound lifted his heavy heart for a moment. Maybe he needed a little bit of laughter in his life right now. He was still so confused as to how he would go about life with the truths he knew. Though he shed no tears, he mourned for Sakura. His heart continued to throb in his chest at the agony of her death. It blotted out most other things and made him struggle to come to a decision about the Uchihas. At the sound of his friend's laughter, the wailing storm clouds rolling in his head receded for a second.

Hinata pulled up a chair to sit beside Naruto, withdrawing from the paper bag a plastic take out container and a pair of chopsticks.

"There you go. Ichiraku's famous miso ramen."

"My favorite!" Naruto chuckled, truly delighted that Hinata had done such a thoughtful thing for him. "Thanks a lot!"

"It's no trouble," Hinata shrugged off, her hands repeatedly folding over each other in her lap. "I thought you'd need some cheering up."

"You thought right. I really appreciate this Hinata," he said, slurping up some warm noodles from the container, hiding the returning grief that was bubbling up at her oblivious reminder.

"So, when are you going to be released?" Hinata asked, attempting to be casual.

Naruto appreciated her efforts. Her visit now was the calm before the storm, he thought. It would not be so slow and quiet when the rest of his friends came barreling in after school. It was nice to get some prep time.

"Tomorrow morning, I think," he answered.

"S-So soon? You're sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine Hinata."

The unspoken, "I wasn't the one who was attacked," hung so heavily in the air afterwards that it was almost as if he had in fact voiced it out loud. After a pause where the silence was broken by Naruto's semi-happy slurping, Hinata spoke again.

"I guess we won't be seeing you for a while."

"Yeah, Kakashi doesn't want me in school for about a week, maybe two."

"Detective Hatake? He's investigating…"

She broke off, clearly afraid that she'd get a negative reaction from him if she mentioned the murder. Naruto, inwardly, sighed in despair at his loss and in pity for how Hinata was forcing herself to be so careful.

"Yeah," he went on for his friend. "He's assigned to the case."

"Has he started questioning you yet?" Hinata asked, voice low and pale eyes averted.

"Not yet. He'll probably start when I'm out of here."

"Will you be okay?"

"Fine."

His answers grew shorter and curter as their conversation drifted into territory he didn't seek to dwell on. Hinata was quick to pick up on his change of attitude and adjusted her dialogue accordingly. She had a talent for reading people's feelings. That was one of the reasons he found her so easy to talk to.

"You should have seen Lee's reaction when he found out you were in the hospital," she struggled to giggle. "I was afraid he'd flood the school with all the panicked crying."

"That sounds like Lee," the blond said, forcing a smile on his lips and staring down at the soup sitting in his lap.

"Shikamaru and Kiba keep making bets on whether you'll live or not."

Naruto could not help the true laugh from bursting into life. He didn't know if it was the typical semi-selfish actions of his friends that made him laugh or his now, very cynical outlook on life and death.

"Sasuke's been asking about you too."

Any trace of happiness Naruto may have felt with his companion's presence and harmless conversation was instantly swept away with a freezing wind. At first, Naruto suspected said wind was that of fear. Uchiha Sasuke, that whom Naruto knew was much more than he appeared, was asking of him. Why? So he could kill Naruto before he exposed them? Naruto had no doubt that he easily could.

As soon as the fearful breeze that blew through his bones settled, it did melt away into a burning rage. His frightened questions developed into those of vengeance and arrogance. How dare Sasuke use his friends to get to him? How dare he show his face in the school halls after what he did?

"He's worried about you," Hinata continued, this time unaware of the change in Naruto's feelings. "When he found out about what happened to you Sunday night…"

Naruto's hands clenched around the container in his lips and his teeth ground together to the point where he thought they'd end up as powder. He wanted to scream. He wanted to strangle that son of a bitch! How could he pretend so easily? Had he no remorse? No guilt? He'd murdered an innocent girl; the girl Naruto had loved! Sasuke had slaughtered her like an animal! She had been nothing but a scrap of meat to that bloodthirsty monster!

"N-Naruto?" Hinata stammered, moving her hand as if to lay it upon one of his own.

"So Sasuke knows then?" he bit out, not meeting her frantically worried gaze, his frozen diamond gaze resuming a familiar position on the first wall in his line of sight.

"…Of course. Though it's only been a day, rumors are spreading quickly."

"Of course they are," he growled through his teeth.

"Naruto…" she murmured, dropping her hovering hand onto a tensed one of his. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he shot back, abrasively. "You're not the one that should be apologizing. It's that bastard who killed her that has to pay! If he's not dead by the time I see him, I'll shove a dagger through his heart, just like he did to me."

* * *

Almost a week had passed since the murder of Haruno Sakura. The mayor could not keep it hidden for long. The truth was out and Konoha was hysterical. The Uchihas were familiar with the reaction and it startled them, greatly. Sasuke had never seen Konoha so pathetically terrified. He'd grown up in this town and knew it only as a beaming, friendly place. He could not recognize such an atmosphere as his roving gaze flickered from face to face passing by. There was much distress and mistrust dwelling in each eye he happened to catch a glimpse of. The usual social gossiping gatherings he'd been readjusting to since they returned had thinned and most people spoke in hushed, downcast voices.

"I feel so useless," Sasuke sighed, leaning his head against the metal lockers behind him. "I feel like I should be able to give some kind of clue to help after seeing it."

"Forgive my negativity but, I doubt they would believe you – no matter how honest you were. I'm sorry," Itachi rebuked, gently.

"No. You're right. Something like that – like us – is just a figure from human nightmares."

A silence passed between them wherein Itachi drew his hand up to pat Sasuke's elbow. One of the things neither of them ever got used to while acting as humans was how much lack of contact they were forced to go along without. They were very accustomed to fearlessly being affectionate towards one another. It tore each of them up inside at how detached they were.

"We've just got to remain calm and move with the current," Itachi murmured.

"This from the man who freaked out and burned our clothes?"

"I'm sorry about that. Besides, you were no better, calling the police like you did."

"Okay," Sasuke chuckled. "So neither of us have been very calm about the situation."

"Now, we will be. We've had some time to regroup and we'll handle it as we always have."

"Fearlessly and gracefully," they both agreed.

"You're going to lunch," Itachi declared afterwards, changing the subject. "What are you going to do?"

"Pretend to eat," Sasuke answered, squeezing his brother's hand before departing for the cafeteria.

He could feel Itachi's worry as well as he felt his touch. He wished he could offer his brother some assurance but, he could not do so when he himself was equally distressed. This situation was the last thing he had wanted upon his return to Konoha. It had been so many decades since he'd last been there. He loved this town. It was his birthplace. It had killed him when he and Itachi left after their parents passed away and he was no older. He liked the tropical island the two of them had lived at for so long and he adored being there, alone with Itachi, for such a long time but, he always had a craving for the simple suburban life again. Now that they were finally back, he could not believe how wrong things were going.

"Sasuke!"

He had reached his destination. Lee must have been looking for him since he'd barely stepped through the entrance when he was called to. The bizarre boy was waving him over in his usual excited way. Sasuke managed a smile at his enthusiasm throughout such a dark time. The Uchiha wandered to the table and it was no accident that his dark gaze fell on the table where Sakura had sat. It was empty, void of all her bubbly friends. He had heard rumors that her funeral was approaching. Forensics had done everything they could with her body and the family "wanted her at rest" as soon as possible. His heart wrenching at her convulsive departure, Sasuke tore his gaze away from the empty table and took his seat beside his new friends.

"What do you think Sasuke?" Lee burst at him. "We want to do something to cheer Naruto up when he comes back. We're thinking of throwing him a party!"

"A party?"

Sasuke didn't understand how dancing bodies and blasting music would cheer _anyone _up after losing someone you cared about.

"Is that really such a good idea?" he voiced his disagreement. "You don't think he'll need some space?"

"He needs his friends!" Kiba spoke up. "He doesn't have anyone else!"

"He's right," Shikamaru agreed, solemnly, averting his eyes to the tabletop. "Naruto's all by himself. He doesn't have anyone to give him comfort, except for us."

Sasuke's brows furrowed in confusion. Naruto had no family? He had just assumed all of them were average kids with normal lives and parents. He had failed to investigate into his friends' lives, not really seeking to shove his nose into things without consent.

"Naruto's by himself?" Sasuke questioned, his voice low. "What happened?"

"…Naruto's parents have been missing for many years," Hinata murmured when no one else seemed to want to speak about it. "When he was very young, they went to a foreign country and never came back. For the most part, he's been alone for half his life."

Well…this didn't brighten Sasuke's outlook towards his present predicament. Naruto had no one? It was hard for him to bring up a picture of _anyone _living their days out in a home by themselves. He himself was so used to having company that the concept was alien to him.

"You're worried about how Sakura's death will affect him after that," Sasuke gathered, reading into what the girl wasn't saying.

"We all are," Shikamaru whispered, absently twirling one of Choji's chips that was being shared between his fingers.

Said snack-loving boy was still today, staring aimlessly at the salty flakes within the caverns of plastic bags sprawled on the table. Sasuke wasn't quite sure what to say. He sympathized with all of them, including the absent Naruto. Although he didn't have much experience with the human reaction to losing someone you cared for, he still pitied them. He had felt nothing when his family slipped away around him as he lived on. He'd never gotten along with the clan, especially not with his parents. All he had really needed was Itachi. He felt no grief as long as he had his brother. He reminded himself that these humans were much less fortunate than him. They didn't have someone like Itachi to refrain them from grieving and they were not developed enough to know how to shut it out.

"If you think a party is what Naruto will want, then you should do it," he told them to help break the silence, trying to act as upset as they were. "Where will you hold it?"

"My house," Lee spoke up in delight – clearly, he didn't get upset easily. "Or Choji's."

"Not that it matters to me but, is there a reason behind that?"

The Uchiha cast his gaze around the table at their faces, figuring now was as good a time as ever to figure out the story behind each of them.

"My mom's t0o temperamental," Kiba explained first with an uncaring shrug of his shoulders. "And when my sister sides with her, it gets really ugly. Plus, some of the dogs aren't too great to be around."

"What about your dad?" Sasuke asked, trading carefully.

"Don't know," Kiba replied, sliding a random coin around the table and watching it intently. "I haven't met him. He bailed on my mom before I was born."

"My parents fight too much," Shikamaru told Sasuke when Kiba had finished. "I feel like I'm expecting them to divorce every day. Its not the best environment for someone who's grieving like Naruto is."

A short silence passed over them all again, Lee fidgeting in his seat, uncomfortably as he glanced between his friends. Sasuke had grown very still as he absorbed this new information. His black gaze slicked over to the quiet girl beside him, expectantly. If she felt him looking at her, she did not show it, keeping her silver gaze forward and towards the negative space between Shikamaru and Choji across from her. Figuring she wasn't going to share – and he didn't blame her for not wanting to – Sasuke looked away and prepared to say something. Hinata surprised him, however, by speaking up, though she did not look anyone in the eye. No one was looking up at her anyway. Both Shikamaru's and Lee's gazes were on the table. Choji was patting his long-time friend on the arm reassuringly and Kiba was looking at Hinata but, in a downcast way.

"Naruto and my father don't get along. My father doesn't approve of any of my friends. He barely approves of me or my sister. He also fights a lot with my cousin, Neji. He's lived with us since his father died when he was much younger. With my father being the closest family he had, there was no question he'd come live with us. Father doesn't make it easy for him though. When Neji's not out avoiding him, they're always fighting. Even after Tenten…"

She could not say anymore. She'd begun shaking halfway through her explanation. Kiba comforted her, touching her shoulder and murmuring encouraging words that Sasuke did not care to listen to. Their stories had angered him more than anything. Were humans so blind? How could the parents they spoke of be so naïve as not to see the effect they had on their children? Was it really so hard to place their desperation to be superior aside? He'd spent three hundred years watching society develop around him. The human race spent so much time perfecting technology when they themselves were the biggest mass of imperfection in need of improvement.

"Forgive me," he said to them all after he had simmered down a little bit. "As a result of my nosiness I've probably spoiled your day."

"No!" Lee and Hinata were the first to disagree.

"Their right," Shikamaru added, a small smile brightening his clouded face. "It's not your fault. Besides, if we're going to be friends, you deserve to know these things."

Sasuke blinked once at this, slightly stunned by their immediate trust of him. He hoped they weren't expecting him to reveal his deep dark secret now.

"Regardless," he insisted. "That was personal and I had no business in asking."

"We would end up telling you anyway," Kiba chuckled. "Shikamaru has a point. Friends tell each other these things and I have a feeling you'll be our friend for quite some time."

_If only you knew_, Sasuke couldn't help but think, though he held Kiba's gaze with a smile.

"I appreciate that you feel that way," he said.

"We all do," Hinata, hurriedly, added, earning agreeing nods from around the table.

Something moved within the confines of the Uchiha's cold exterior. He was touched that he had been accepted as one of their own. He was humbled that such strong-willed teenagers thought him worthy of their secrets and their trust. Sasuke didn't have friends up until he'd met this group. During his shot time as a member of the living, he had never gotten along with people his own age. He had been an outcast. This was the first time outside of his love life that Sasuke had found someplace he belonged. Now, he just had to make it last.

* * *

It was Saturday again. Naruto was finding it so difficult to believe it had almost been a week since he'd watched Sakura die. Sometimes it felt like years; other times it felt like only seconds had passed. He still remembered every time detail about the night. He didn't believe he'd ever forget. How could he? You didn't just _forget _witnessing a murder, especially not of the girl you loved.

Naruto had been free from the hospital for about three days. Kakashi rarely left his side, always failing to conceal his concern for the boy. He attempted to be nonchalant and casual around Naruto but, he often came off as tense and wary. Although he'd posed as Naruto's father-figure, Kakashi had never quite developed the fatherly abilities. He had never been a good source of comfort despite his efforts. Now, Naruto had no doubt that the man was finding difficulty in separating his detective mind from his fatherly mind.

Naruto's questioning had begun the day prior. A few different detectives were on the case besides Kakashi but, he didn't tell any of them anything different. He didn't tell any of them about seeing the Uchihas at the scene of the crime but, Kakashi had not forgotten his dazed words as he was put in an ambulance.

_"I saw him and when I see him again, he'll be the one that ends up dead."_

During their interrogation sessions, Kakashi always tried to get a clearer statement from him but, Naruto insisted that he could remember no face or distinguishing features. It wasn't that he wanted Sasuke to get away with what he did; it was just that he didn't want to send Kakashi or anyone else to their deaths. They wouldn't last an instant against monsters such as the Uchihas.

Naruto lay at home now, staring at the ceiling. Today was to be Sakura's funeral. Honestly, he was afraid to go. He was afraid he'd go mad as he watched them lower her body into the ground. He had already lost a piece of his sanity. She took it with her as she descended into Death's icy grip. He didn't want to lose any more. He had to be somewhat sane if he was going to stand any chance at all against such unbreakable beings as the Uchihas. It was that thought that made up his mind about the funeral. He felt obligated to see her off and he wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.

He didn't know what the Uchihas' motives or intentions were but, he wanted to ensure that the funeral would not be defiled by a possible appearance from either of them. He sat up on his bed and stayed still for a moment, trying to comprehend that it was _Sakura's funeral _he was about to attend. Robotically, he stood and headed for the door. He didn't bother changing clothes. He had been wearing black for the past week in subconscious mourning anyway.

Konoha's streets seemed empty today. Since the first murder, the crowds had been gradually thinning more and more each day. The town was petrified. Two premature deaths were too much for them to handle after such a long, peaceful existence. Naruto's cerulean gaze remained down on the dusty street beneath him as he stalked in the direction of the cemetery. The air was sharp today and smelled of dry bark and dead leaves. Though it was early November, Naruto felt like they were late into winter. The town was already iced over with the claws of despair. It felt like years that he listened to his dragging footsteps echo back at him from the half deserted streets.

Occasionally during his silent trek, Naruto forgot where exactly he was going. He wanted so badly to deny that she was gone. He still didn't want to believe that he wasn't going to see her anymore. He was about to turn around and run home if the tall wrought-iron gates of the cemetery didn't appear before him. He wanted to stop there and make up some excuse to admire the twisting metal instead of facing the heartache he knew was waiting for him. His legs would not allow him to prolong this visit, however. He passed into the hilly area dotted with engraved stones. The more tombstones he passed by, the more he sought to turn back.

He didn't know how he knew where the burial was taking place. He simply allowed the magnetic instinct to drag him along. Along his dreary way, he did not miss the familiar figure stooped over a grave. Naruto did not stop moving but, his gaze did shift over to watch the grieving figure. Perhaps the rumors of the two being seriously in love were true. Never had Naruto seen Hyuga Neji as stricken as he did now. The usually icy and stoic prodigy was in pieces before Tenten's grave. He was on his knees, his hair disheveled and his face contorted in agony. His body shuddered with sobbing prayers that collapsed from his tear-stained lips.

Why did he not feel that way? Naruto asked himself. All he felt was empty. He didn't feel pained, just scared. He didn't feel sad but, he felt cold. He was void of feeling. He called it mourning but, was it really? Compared to the broken mess he saw Neji in, did he even have the right to call his state of mind grieving? Even as he lost sight of the rambling Hyuga and stumbled across his own destination, still, he felt nothing.

A mass of black-clad mourners surrounded the dug-out rectangle in the earth. He could not see the coffin through their bodies and he was thankful for that much. The veiled faces were heartbreaking enough. Each and every one of them was drowned out in tears…except for his. Why was he not crying? Why wasn't his heart twisting in his chest? He only felt hollow, waiting for some tiny scrap of emotion to plant itself inside of him and fill up the empty space. He did not approach the hushed ceremony, instead rooting himself to the spot and overseeing from afar. He did not want to intrude in the middle of it.

He blinked once when his eyes began to sting from staring at them for so long. The movement just so happened to shift his eyes enough to the right to spot a figure in the shadows of a weeping willow tree. He knew who it was before he glimpsed his face. Between the softly swinging boughs was a pale face framed in raven hair. The sadness in his ebony eyes as he looked toward the sniffling group disgusted Naruto. His fists clenched at his sides and resentment overflowed within him. He had dared to come here. He was spiteful enough to show his monstrous face here. How could he? Naruto still could not understand the lack of remorse.

The vengeful boy watched the vampire's gaze slide to him. He did not appear surprised to see him glaring at him. He didn't seem to care. Did he care about nothing? He hadn't cared about the effect his murderous actions would have on anyone and now he didn't care about who knew his secret. It was because he knew, Naruto realized. He knew that no one would believe Naruto. He knew he was invincible and that no one could stop him. That was why he did not care.

Naruto was blind to the grief in Sasuke's eyes. He did not see the silent condolences or determination for justice. He did not see the guilt of not moving fast enough or the regret of not using his powers to save her. He did not see the self-disgust or honest sorrow. He saw absolutely nothing. He refused to be conscious of anything else.

"Forgive me," Sasuke whispered to the breeze, his marble lips barely moving.

The words were lost in the swishing branches surrounding him as he departed. When the wind had settled and the boughs were still, Sasuke had vanished. Naruto's teeth clenched and his nails dug into his palms the longer he held his fists. Silently, he vowed that, whether he had to carve his heart out with a wooden stake or burn his soul with blessed water, he would destroy Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

_Went to school and I was very nervous / No one knew me, no one knew me / Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson / Look right through me, look right through me / And I find it kind of funny / I find it kind of sad / The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had_


	9. CHAPTER 8 Our Truth

**~Chapter VIII~**

_~Our Truth~_

* * *

_Clock is ticking while I'm killing time / Spinning all around / Nothing else you can do to turn it back / Making partnership in this crime / Ripping off the best / Condescending smile_

* * *

What were the chances? What were the chances that the second they ventured back home, they were presented with reasons to turn away? Sasuke repeated such questions for what had to be hours in his head. They had spent so much time on that uncharted island and so much time exploring the world's wonders. All he had wanted was to settle back at his birthplace for a while. He had just wanted to reminisce and make a few memories. Why were so many obstacles rising up to stop him?

"Sasuke?"

Itachi crossed into the spacious bedroom from the sheet of glass looking out to the porch. His fretting brother had been in bed since his venture to the cemetery the day prior. He had returned to the mansion in a downcast mood, unable to keep up with the conversation Itachi attempted to engage him in. Itachi allowed his brother to take up a position in bed, hoping that if he left him to his thoughts he'd have an easier time calming down. When the morning had come the present Sunday, and Sasuke continued to stare at the floor and clutch a pillow, Itachi began to worry even more.

He claimed a spot on the edge of the large bed, tentatively laying a cold hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Sasuke? Are you alright?"

"I've been much better," came the airy reply.

"What can I do for you?"

"Just stay safe."

After so long a time of his gaze on one spot, Sasuke finally moved it elsewhere; up at Itachi. Said Uchiha met the look in relieved silence. He slid his hand down the length of Sasuke's arm until his fingers twined with the other's. He waited for his raven-haired companion to continue on.

"I'm afraid that if our secret expands further into the human half of the town, they might figure out how to hurt us."

"I really doubt that will happen," Itachi chuckled. "Humans really aren't that smart."

"Heartbreak can do many things to a person," Sasuke murmured, laying his head back down against the pillows.

Itachi stared at his brother in fretful silence for a few moments longer before drifting down to lay beside him, not stirring the bed in the slightest bit.

"You're worried about Naruto," he acknowledged, positioning his arm along Sasuke's, their hands remaining clasped together.

"He saw me at the funeral," Sasuke said, voice low and thoughtful.

"You told me."

"He was so…broken and…full of turmoil. It was clear on his face how conflicted and heartbroken he was…"

"It's an obvious emotional reaction," Itachi said and the lack of caring in his voice troubled Sasuke. "It won't be easy for him to get over it."

"He believes he loved her."

A frustrated growl thrummed from Itachi's throat, sending vibrations through Sasuke. The elder's arms flexed as they tightened around him, almost feeling possessive.

"He does not know what love is. His feelings for her are purely of lust. She used him and made him believe she would give him what he sought. He is naïve to real love and it disgusts me."

Sasuke didn't respond immediately, honestly shocked at his companion's intense opinion. He turned in Itachi's arms; a fluid, soundless motion. He met the man's motionless gaze, laying his head on the pillow inches away from Itachi's face. He searched the black landscape of his frigid stare, not understanding his unfeeling words in regards to the grieving blond.

"Humans make a mockery of the word 'love,'" Itachi explained further.

"We've been spoiled," Sasuke murmured, seeking to change the subject.

"And lucky," Itachi agreed, breezily moving his hand to Sasuke's face, his frosty touch dancing along his jaw.

Sasuke smiled at him, reaching up and grasping said hand, tenderly. With an easy twitch of his wrist, Itachi drew his brother's hand to his lips, trailing ghosting kisses along his knuckles.

"You really think everything will be okay?" Sasuke asked in a whisper as he slid up against Itachi, tucking his head against the man's neck.

"Hmmm…" Itachi hummed, resting his chin upon Sasuke's raven head. "I can't muster an honest answer. I really don't feel too threatened. Naruto is the only human that knows about us. Given his reputation, even if he did cry wolf, I doubt he would be taken seriously."

"Reputation?" Sasuke repeated, leaning away from Itachi and propping himself up on his elbow to look down at him. "What reputation would that be?"

"He's quite rebellious, actually," the older immortal explained, nonchalantly. "He ran away from foster care once. He's also quite the prankster. He likes to toilet paper houses on Halloween a lot and shoots fireworks off without a license on New Year's."

"Itachi! You went digging through his personal file? I hate it when you do that!"

Sasuke sat up on the bed, turning a thunderous glare on his brother. Itachi was unfazed by his lover's outburst, rising into a sitting position at a more human speed.

"Why are you so upset?" he asked, calmly.

"I hate it when you use your powers to dig into other people's privacy," Sasuke answered, sharply. "If the Countess hears about you snooping around for private records, what do you think she'll think of us?"

"I thought you weren't worried about being made suspects so long as we were honest."

"This isn't about the murders!" Sasuke snapped without meaning to. "I just wish you weren't so nosy! Naruto's been through enough crap without us spying on his past."

"You sound as if you know more than me."

Sasuke turned his face away from Itachi's roving gaze, fixing his eyes on the walls again instead. He hated what these murders were doing to him. The events of the past weeks were making him doubt himself _and _Itachi. He was keeping things from his lover. Although they were small, insignificant tidbits of knowledge, they weighed heavily on Sasuke's shoulders when he didn't share them with Itachi. After telling him everything in the past three centuries, the tiniest secret seemed monumental.

"I'm sorry," Itachi murmured, reaching over to touch his arm. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Sasuke fought with himself for a second before shaking his head and replying with, "I shouldn't have yelled at you. You're only trying to keep us safe."

Itachi reached up and laid feather-light touches along his brother's jawbone, gazing at him longingly.

"I don't want to fight," he said. "I love you to much to do that."

"I love you too," Sasuke sighed, pressing his forehead to Itachi's and letting his pale eyelids flutter closed.

"Forever and always?"

Sasuke could hear the smirk in Itachi's voice and allowed one of his own to curve up his alabaster lips.

"Yeah. Forever and always."

Their lips pressed together in a mutual, silent apology to seal that they forgave each other for each of their misgivings. And then…the yearning for his brother vanished and Sasuke bolted away in shock. It was not one-sided. Itachi sat beside him with the same rigidity and anxiety. The air was heavy with the over-bearing power approaching.

"They're here," Sasuke whispered in disbelief as he recognized the power alerting them of the presence.

"Tsunade doesn't waste any time," Itachi mumbled, although his voice was still tense.

Sasuke didn't turn to look at him, instead staring at nothing as the possible severity of this arrival caught up with him.

"They're here to see us," he said, his voice hollow in realization. "Why? It's not our fault."

Itachi's hand found his on the sheets, grasping it firmly and drawing Sasuke's widened eyes to his somewhat more calm ones.

"We may not be the prime suspects in the human investigation," Itachi said, forebodingly, and drastically lowering Sasuke's hopes. "But, we are the prime suspects in the investigation by the Council."

* * *

Nervous could not begin to describe how Sasuke felt as he sat and waited to confront the immortal Council. He had not seen them - _together _in the same place - since he abandoned his human existence. The Council was ferocious when it came to upholding their laws. Tsunade was scary on her own but, when she was joined by the other two…You just wanted to drop dead and get the meeting over with.

"What's the matter?" Itachi asked beside him, very aware of his companion's distress. "Are you scared?"

"I don't know," Sasuke replied, digging his nails into the wooden seat beneath him, anxiously.

He didn't look up at Itachi to answer, his frozen, black eyes remaining glued to the wall far opposite him.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," the elder brother crooned, even though it was unconfirmed that Sasuke was in fact frightened. "The Council may be strict but, they're also fair. They won't punish someone who hasn't committed a crime."

Itachi's hand slid over Sasuke's clenched one, prying his fingers out of the wood. He gave it a squeeze to get his attention but, Sasuke's gaze remained forward.

"You're not afraid of the impression you're going to make, are you?" Itachi chuckled, taking Sasuke's chin in his other hand and forcing him to look at him.

"Of course not," Sasuke replied, softly, turning his gaze down.

"Then what's wrong?"

"…They just intimidate me I suppose," the younger sighed, briefly closing his eyes to gather his bearings.

"You're embarrassed," Itachi noted, looking back at Sasuke's eyes as they drifted back open.

"I guess so…" Sasuke agreed. "I can't believe we're stuck in this position."

"Everything will be alright," Itachi said, just as the large doors to the court room opened.

It was very ironic that the only place in town the Council could think to meet was at the town court. That may have been what had Sasuke so on edge. Shizune stood in the doorway leading into the courtroom and she sent an encouraging and sympathetic smile in the Uchihas' direction.

"The Council's ready to see you."

Sasuke tensed, slightly, and Itachi squeezed his hand in reassurance before helping him to his feet. Shizune let them into the court room and, instantly, Sasuke felt weighed down. The power flooding the room was indescribable. There were three members to the Council. They sat in three chairs in front of the judge's podium, facing the rows of seats going back to the door. It was somewhat of a relief to Sasuke that he was familiar with Tsunade. She still scared the crap out of him, regardless but, at least she was on their side.

The other two Council members were the ones to worry about, especially since he didn't recognize one of them. The white-haired Sage, Jiraiya, was present as usual in Council meetings. Sasuke had only met him once before but, his memory was fuzzy about the interaction. The elderly immortal sat rigid in his seat, like he was preparing himself for some great confrontation. His eyes stared straight ahead at the vacant space in the air, his mouth set in a firm, unhappy line.

Sasuke's searching gaze shifted to the third member of the Council whom he did not recognize. Although his memory of the last Council meeting he'd participated in was vague, he knew for a fact that the man sitting there was not the original Council member. The lower half of the man's face was wrapped in bandages so all Sasuke saw was his cold, ruthless eyes, glaring at every single person in the room. Everything about him demanded power; from his bulging muscles to his steal-tipped combat boots. Sasuke specifically remembered the former Count being much more thin and pale, although he still could not recall a name or face. Glancing around, he could see no one else was very concerned with the change.

"Good evening boys," Tsunade greeted the brothers, very casually but, with a clipped sound to her voice as if she was speaking carefully.

"Good evening Countess," they replied, more formerly, as Shizune showed them to their seats in the front row of benches. "Good evening Sage. Good evening Count."

They greeted the other two Council members the same way, respectfully acknowledging their position. The Council consisted of three roles to play: there was the role of Countess, Sage, and Count. Tsunade had been the Countess for centuries upon centuries, overseeing the constant changes from human to immortal and posing as Supreme Judge for cases where her kind threatened humanity.

The position of Sage came with the responsibility of cataloging important events in history for future reference. The Sage's job was to listen carefully to the problems presented to him. As much as they enjoyed bragging about their perfection, even the children of the night had their issues. That could have explained why Jiraiya always seemed so upset: he had to listen to so many depressed thoughts every day. He was also a very young Sage. He was only about two decades into his undying existence. Sasuke could barely fathom how difficult the old man's job was.

Finally, the Count was to oversee weapons and war. It was a boring responsibility really. There wasn't much to fight over in their world…not recently anyway. When he wasn't charging out on the battlefield the Count was also given the opportunity to discover. He was in charge of immortal science and kept tabs on all the new inventions belting out from the ingenious, undead minds across the planet. Sasuke could not imagine the stranger sitting before him in a lab coat and surrounded by test tubes. By the look on the man's face, it was easy to tell he couldn't wrap his mind around it either.

"Itachi. Sasuke. Do you know why we've called you here today?" Tsunade asked, her flaming gaze urging them to speak honestly.

"We have a rough idea," Itachi answered, flicking into business mode with a clear and level voice. "You suspect us to be the minds behind the recent murders in Konoha."

"As if that wasn't obvious," the Count grumbled from beside Jiraiya, disheartening Sasuke quite easily with that gruff, raspy voice.

"Zabuza," Tsunade warned, shooting a glare over the white head beside her and at the muscular man.

The Count rolled his eyes and leaned his head against his scarred knuckles, boredly. Tsunade twitched, repeatedly, in aggravation before she (slightly) regained her composure.

"Yes," Tsunade huffed in response to Itachi's answer, continually shooting glares over at Zabuza. "That's part of it. You were at the location of Haruno Sakura's murder."

"Yes," both brothers confirmed.

"You do not, however, claim to be the ones who murdered her."

"No. We don't."

"Of course you wouldn't," Zabuza laughed to himself, heartlessly.

"You say you saw the murderer," Tsunade said through her silvery teeth - trying not to shatter the arm of her chair – as she directed the statement at Sasuke.

"Yes," he agreed, alone this time, carefully maintaining the calm composure he'd managed to build up over his nerves.

"Describe what you saw please."

Sasuke did as he was told, keeping his eyes forward instead of constantly glancing at Itachi. The Council - together - picked up on every little detail in someone's performance and always used what they saw to their advantage. He had to stay calm. He'd done it millions of times before. He just had to remain unfazed by the titles sitting before him.

He repeated his experience the night of Sakura's murder - this time without any comments from Zabuza throughout. When he mentioned the wings, Zabuza was clearly interested. An excited and curious gleam entered his bloodthirsty gaze and he sat up straight to participate, formally, in the discussion bound to follow. Sasuke thought he saw Jiraiya's jaw tighten at the mention of wings but, his eyes didn't move to see fast enough. The Sage had not moved a breath since they entered.

However, when Sasuke finished his recollection with Naruto's entrance, the flicker of Jiraiya's eyes was like an explosion of movement on his frozen face. It was an accident that Sasuke met the man's gaze full on and he had a feeling the Sage hadn't intended for him to see the emotion that was in his eyes. It confused Sasuke. Tsunade had had a reaction at Naruto's name when he told her the story, too. Zabuza did not react to the name but, when Sasuke glanced at Itachi, his brother's eyes were narrowed in suspicion. He was keen enough to have not missed the look in Jiraiya's eyes.

"So, a vampire with wings, eh?" Zabuza said into the silence afterwards.

"Yes," Tsunade replied, tapping her red nails on the chair arm awkwardly - she was obviously frustrated with the man's loose use of that word (it wasn't common that they used the word "vampire" to describe their kind). "It sounds like the Forbidden Flight."

"You're positive it was a vampire?"

"I don't know what it was," Sasuke said, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to look Zabuza in the eye. "It drank blood like we do but, I'd never seen anything like it before."

"Let's recap, shall we?" Tsunade chimed in, clearly wanting to do something to prevent Zabuza from talking. "Shizune."

"Milady."

The dark-haired assistant stepped forward, folding her hands behind her back and reciting the mass of information gathered in the past few weeks.

"On the night of October 31st, the body of Tenten was found behind Yuhi Kurenai's home on Kiba Drive. The body was found, severed in three places. The body was brought to autopsy where the immortal experts erased the red marks on the neck that would possibly direct attention to us. The human detectives only examined the cuts on the body. Unable to identify any clues from the body, it was returned to the family and promptly buried on November 2nd.

"On November 3rd, an anonymous call came into the police station stating the location of Haruno Sakura's body. When the police arrived at the alley downtown between Warehouses 12 and 13, they found citizen, Uzumaki Naruto over the victim's body, mutilated the same as the first victim. Uzumaki was sedated and rushed to the hospital where he was put in the custody of detective Hatake Kakashi. Haruno's body was brought into autopsy and underwent the same examination as the previous victim. The body was released to the family a week later and was buried on November 8th, yesterday.

"Uzumaki remained hospitalized for three days prior to the burial and has been continually questioned by detective Hatake about the incident. No information has been given that would implicate anything other than human as the murderer."

"Thank you Shizune," Tsunade said when she finished, the assistant stepping back behind the Countess's chair with a respectfully bowed head. "I've dispatched non-human detectives to investigate Naruto as well but, they can't get anything out of him."

"Odd," Zabuza murmured, those hawk-like eyes fixed on Sasuke again.

The room went silent as the stony individuals waited for an elaboration on the word from Zabuza. Sasuke wasn't sure if the bulky man was oblivious to their anticipation or if he was deliberately holding back to annoy them all again. Tsunade seemed to be thinking along the same lines, raising her voice to demand the Count to speak.

"Zabu -"

"Why would you call the police?" Zabuza asked the Uchihas – Tsunade growled in frustration at the Count's childishness.

"I was hoping they could help more the sooner they got to the scene of the crime," Sasuke answered the intimidating Count.

"How idiotic," he snorted, a smug and superior look in his eyes as he leaned back in his chair.

"Care to clarify?" Itachi growled through his teeth, his silent and calm demeanor breaking, instantly, at Zabuza's rudeness to his brother.

"Not really," the Count sighed, stretching his arms up above him and folding them behind his head.

"Zabuza, for the Devil's sake - !"

"Knock it off! All of you!"

It was the oddly stoic Jiraiya that bellowed this out at the meeting participants. It was the first time Sasuke had heard his rough voice throughout the entire meeting. The unbridled anger in his voice unsettled Sasuke and he could see it troubled Tsunade as well. She instantly stopped bickering with Zabuza and fixed her amber gaze on the Sage, anxiously. The Count grumbled something under his breath and leaned his head on his hand again, the current situation boring him yet again.

"You."

Sasuke wasn't sure if he jumped in his seat when Jiraiya's thunderous sights fell upon him. What the hell had gotten the Sage so angry?

"Repeat exactly what Uzumaki Naruto said to you the night he discovered what you are."

Sasuke blinked once at the request, not seeing how it would be of any help to the situation. It was also a huge slap in the face that the Sage referred to him as a "what" and not a "who." He wasn't an object. He knew Jiraiya held a lot of resentment for the immortal race but, the least he could do was be courteous to everyone who was enjoying their existence. Regardless of his bitterness, Sasuke politely repeated Naruto's exact words that he recalled. Jiraiya's expression never changed again but, he abruptly turned away from him, ignoring him completely afterwards.

"Shino! Keep tabs on the human. Zabuza -"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. Haku, get to work."

How the hell had he not noticed the two figures standing behind the two Council members? Shizune had been standing in the same position behind Tsunade and he'd been conscious of her presence throughout the entire conference. Only when they had been spoken to did Sasuke realize there were two more individuals in the court room. They blended from the shadow cast by the judge's podium like phantoms at their masters' calls.

He knew each Council member had an apprentice that had special talents. The responsibilities of the Council positions were passed down to the three apprentices in case - by some freak of nature disaster - a Council member had to be replaced. The apprentices of the Council were not widely spoken of and existed in secret from the rest of the immortal society. They carried out jobs for their masters according to their abilities and were somewhat responsible for carrying out orders that kept their world balanced.

The two pale boys looked more corpse-like than any other immortal individual Sasuke had met. Zabuza's apprentice, Haku, had the emptiest and most vacant stare upon his face. He was clothed in a black robe that vividly contrasted against his snowy skin. He was the most undead out of all of them, Sasuke thought and it was quite easy for him to mistaken him as a wandering spirit instead.

Shino was just as void of life. His eyes were hidden behind dark glasses that stood out like a raven in a blizzard against his face. His black jacket had a very high collar that surrounded and hid the bottom half of his face. He seemed very calculated and collected with his hands in his jacket pockets and Sasuke couldn't tell what he was looking at from behind the glasses.

As quickly as they materialized from the shadows, they bowed to their masters and melted out of the court room, sliding down the aisle between the bench rows like a December wind. Sasuke didn't even hear the door open or close behind him as they departed, as if they had passed right through the solid object.

"There's nothing else useful you can share with us today?" Tsunade asked of the Uchihas when the two apprentices had gone.

"No Countess," Itachi answered, evenly, focusing on her to distract him from his irritation towards Zabuza. "There is nothing more."

"Then Shizune will escort you out."

She nodded to them in farewell and Shizune quickly strode to their side to show them out. Itachi stood, immediately, upon her arrival but, Sasuke remained sitting, gazing at the Council intently. The three of them returned the stare in question.

"What will become of Naruto?" he openly asked.

He ignored the intense burning in his skull at Itachi's confused stare and remained focused on the Council. He got vague reactions: Zabuza yawned in disinterest, Jiraiya's eyes hardened and narrowed in suspicion, and Tsunade blinked once in curiosity.

"No harm will come to the human," she answered slowly. "Shino and Haku have not been granted permission to make contact with him if that's what you're worried about."

Taking a mental deep breath, Sasuke calmly rose to his feet beside Itachi and added, "I am aware of the laws concerning humans with knowledge of our kind. The usual solution is the extermination of the human."

"Uzumaki Naruto will not be sentenced to death."

Sasuke's black gaze flickered, almost motionlessly, to focus on Jiraiya. The Sage had answered him, before he even finished his sentence, with a definitive voice that assured him completely that Naruto would be left unharmed. Tsunade's slitted eyes, full of concern and aimed at Jiraiya, were not so comforting – neither was an annoyed growl from Zabuza.

"The meeting is over," he heard Shizune say nearby, pretty much ordering him in the most subtle way possible to stop talking and leave.

He gazed at the Council for a moment longer, trying to decipher the cause of tension between the three of them. When he could come up with no solution, he bowed his head, curtly, and followed Shizune and Itachi out of the court room.

"Best of luck to you both," Shizune murmured to the Uchihas as they stepped into Konoha's streets outside of the courthouse.

Her voice was a comfort in the burdening silence and Sasuke sent her a grateful smile. Her own had not faltered once throughout the encounter and remained steady still as she bowed her head in farewell and went back inside. Sasuke stood beside Itachi in the frosty air for an instant, the silence between them ringing with the absorption of the information shared. Sasuke glanced at Itachi but, he flitted down the courthouse front steps and to their black car waiting in the lot. Concerned that something about the meeting had upset his brother, Sasuke rushed after him, landing in the front passenger seat a split second later.

"You're troubled," Sasuke said as Itachi gripped the steering wheel and turned the car on.

There was a pause as the elder brother backed the vehicle out of its spot and pulled onto the empty road. The soft thrum of the engine vibrated the car but, the brothers remained unmoved, weighing into the seats like two blocks of ice. They drove a few blocks in subdued silence. Sasuke waited for Itachi to say something, focusing on the road ahead to stop himself from pestering his brother with questions.

"You're concern for Naruto unsettles me," Itachi finally said into the stillness.

Another silence passed over them, Itachi's words enveloping around Sasuke. Both of their eyes remained fixed ahead to the distance and the road disappearing beneath their car.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, softly.

"He is human," Itachi replied, coldly.

Sasuke glanced at his brother, brows furrowed in confusion. Itachi didn't have anything against mortals. Neither of them did, being human themselves once before. So where had this sudden resentment come from?

"Why are you so upset by that?" Sasuke dared to ask, holding his ground when Itachi rounded a tumultuous gaze on him.

"Why are you?" he replied.

"He's my friend," Sasuke answered, evenly, trying to suppress the disappointment rising in him at the accusing gleam in Itachi's eyes.

"Someone who accuses you of murder is not your friend."

"He was justified in his accusation."

"Regardless, he has seen your eyes. He has seen your fangs! You can't trust him. He is a threat to us now that he knows."

"If he's such a threat, then why doesn't the whole town know about us?"

"He is a coward."

"Where do you get that logic from?"

"He is afraid no one will believe him."

"You've reassured me of this already. Why is there a problem?"

"I don't want you to see him anymore."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in defense and he stared his brother down, the road ahead ignored by both brothers now. Neither of them glared - neither of them were angry. Both were confused and tense, anticipating a not so bright future for them in their old home.

"Naruto won't tell anyone about us," Sasuke told Itachi, his eyes hard and unsympathetic. "I have to remain near him to make sure that motor mouth of his is kept clamped shut."

Itachi held onto the stare for a moment longer, double-checking Sasuke's eyes for any detection of a secret agenda. He visibly relaxed - his grip on the wheel loosening and the muscles in his neck unflexing - and he resumed driving humanly, sitting up straight and returning his gaze to the road. The car continued to glide along the road, unaffected by the recent lack of eye contact with the surroundings.

"Fine," he murmured. "I trust you'll keep yourself safe."

"Was that all you were worried about?" Sasuke chuckled, his previous doubt in his lover completely wiped out. "You think Naruto can hurt me?"

"We've never been discovered before," Itachi stated, simply. "There are ways to kill the likes of us. There's no telling what his grief will drive the human to do."

"It's like you said," Sasuke reassured, resting his hand on Itachi's knee. "We'll be fine. We've always taken care of ourselves. One human knowing about us will be no problem. The two of us can easily take him on."

The tiniest, ghost of a smile fluttered across Itachi's lips and - although it disappeared soon after - it did leave a more heart-lifting atmosphere in the confined space. It was clear in the man's features that the whole ordeal still worried Itachi but, Sasuke decided not to press him for more answers. He himself, had his own concerns and predicaments that he wasn't ready to discuss yet. Patience had _always _been prime in the brothers' relationship. They would vent to each other when they had partially come to terms with the problem themselves. For now, what was required was a distraction.

"So, has Zabuza always been the Count?" Sasuke asked on a more casual note, turning his gaze back to the road.

"For as long as I can remember," came the quick reply. "Why?"

"You'd think I'd remember such an obnoxious attitude," Sasuke laughed, good-naturedly. "We've met with all three of them together once before, right?"

"Yes. A long time ago," Itachi replied, obviously thinking back on the day by the sound of his distant voice.

Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned his head back, a relaxed smile on his lips.

"It was because you turned me right? They were upset about it because you didn't run it past them first."

"I believe that's what it was about."

One of the few laws of the immortal world was that all changes had to be approved by the Council before hand. Itachi had been unaware of the rule, being recently turned himself.

"I've seen the Sage and the Countess enough," Sasuke went on, seeking to keep up the conversation to distract both of them from their thoughts. "But, I really haven't seen the Count much. His position isn't very public is it?"

"No. Not really."

"Why do you think he showed up now then?"

"He is the head of combat. There's no telling where these murders and discoveries will take all of us."

"He's probably excited," Sasuke chuckled. "He looks entirely a man of war and not slightly a man of science."

"I believe his apprentice handles most of the scientific stuff. I doubt Zabuza's ever picked up a beaker in his existence."

"Are you familiar with Haku and Shino? I can't recall ever coming into contact with them."

"Zabuza and Jiraiya don't show off their apprentices like Tsunade does. I wouldn't be surprised if many of us doubted the two even had apprentices," Itachi chortled, rather cynically.

"They both seemed so…void of feeling."

"I can imagine Jiraiya as a strict master. Shino's job isn't easy and Haku is holding a very unique position from the little I've heard. Like Shizune is to Tsunade, Shino is Jiraiya's personal assassin and guard dog. He is an exceptional spy and is more than likely how the Council seem to know everything all the time. He has frightening talents, especially one for appearing invisible."

"And Haku?" Sasuke asked. "What's this unique position you've heard he holds?"

"I've heard people call the Count's apprentice the Oracle. There is an old and ignored law that the Council must always have a seer: someone that can see into the past, present, and future. There has always been controversy over whether or not the Count has always kept an Oracle as his apprentice."

"Do you think Haku's eyes can really see so far?"

"I do. Everything about him emanated all-knowing wisdom and knowledge."

"You've seen an Oracle before?" Sasuke inquired, raising a brow without opening his eyes.

"No but, I can tell when someone has seen too much."

"You're so insightful," Sasuke praised, a teasing smirk on his face.

He could feel the smile on Itachi's face as they pulled into the long driveway to their old house. The older Uchiha swiftly killed the car's melodic engine and, before Sasuke could even open his eyes, Itachi was over him, pressing his lips against his. Sasuke smiled beneath the mutually cold skin, tilting his head to the side to deepen the kiss.

"What was that for?" Sasuke asked when Itachi drew only an inch away, their foreheads pressed together.

"Just because," Itachi replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"Just because why?" Sasuke challenged, opening his eyes to look into Itachi's.

"Because I owe you after being interrupted this morning."

"Aaaah. That's right. I'm glad you remember."

"How could I forget?"

"I'll race you."

"To where?"

"Inside of course!"

"We can't do it now?"

"In the car?"

"Why not?"

Itachi moved to kiss Sasuke again but, the younger brother slipped from his grasp, appearing outside of the car without a sound. Groaning in displeasure, Itachi glared out of the window at him. Sasuke playfully waved back, beckoning for him to catch him. Smirking mischievously, Itachi rocketed out of the car. In the same instant, Sasuke zipped to the mansion's doors like a laughing gust of wind and the two brothers disappeared into the ancient house.

* * *

_Trying to forget (wasting my time) / We're falling right through / Lying to forget (telling more lies) / Erasing our truth / Go on and tease me_


	10. CHAPTER 9 You Know My Name

**~Chapter IX~**

_~You Know My Name~_

* * *

_If you come inside things will not be the same / When you return to the night / And if you think you've won you never saw me change / The game that we have been playing / I've seen diamonds cut through harder men / Than you yourself but if you must pretend / You may meet your end_

* * *

"Okay Naruto," Kakashi sighed, running a gloved hand through his disheveled gray hair. "Let's try this again. _What did you see _that night in the alley?"

Naruto had been at the police station a lot in the past two days. Kakashi and the other detectives became more and more insistent in their questioning of him each day. He understood their urgency, he really did. They wanted to save as many people as they could from such a slaughter. To do that, they needed all the information at their disposal. However, Naruto could not give that to them. Twice as many lives would be wasted if he sent those detectives to the Uchihas' doorstep. They'd barely have time to blink before those monsters snapped their necks.

"It's like I said," Naruto replied, surprised as always at how well he managed to control his voice. "If I saw anything, I can't remember it now."

"So you remember everything but the murderer's face," Kakashi sighed, getting sick of the repetition of words passed between them.

"I'm starting to think I never saw the bastard."

Kakashi held Naruto's gaze, sternly, with a look that said "you better not be lying to me, or else." Naruto reciprocated with his standard "that's all I know" stare.

"Why did you claim to have seen him?" Kakashi asked, quieter this time, and Naruto knew this question didn't come from the man's analytical side.

"I was angry and I was in shock," Naruto said, placidly. "The more I think about it, the more it felt like a desperate delusion; a hallucination by my hysteria."

Again, Kakashi sighed into the folds of his mask and Naruto recognized the familiar exhaustion on that hidden face. The man must have been working the case through the nights. It looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks. Dark rings were heavy beneath his slightly bloodshot eye, making him look ten years older. His gray mess of hair was losing its shine and was in more disarray than it was supposed to be.

It made Naruto fell guilty when he withheld his secret. He maintained his sorry excuse for peace of mind by telling himself Kakashi would be better off exhausted as opposed to dead. He'd already lost Sakura to the vampires. He couldn't lose this man that was like his father too.

"Naruto," Kakashi spoke again, leaning over the table in the interrogation room they sat in. "You have to tell me what you saw. I can put this psychopath in a padded cell forever if you tell me the truth."

"I am telling the truth," Naruto said, adding as much blandness to his voice as possible. "Why would I deliberately not tell you something that could catch this guy? He killed two innocent girls."

Kakashi held his gaze for one more long moment before lowering his weary eye and waving his hand to dismiss Naruto.

"I'm sorry Kakashi," Naruto murmured as he got to his feet. "I wish I could help. More than anything, I do."

Kakashi did not respond or look at him, instead milling through the papers in the portfolio in front of him. His shoulders heavy with guilt, Naruto exited the interrogation room and signed out of the police station. Upon his departure, he was greeted with the nipping November winds that had swept into Konoha.

His hot breath came out in little, misty puffs in response to the cool air. He tugged his dark brown coat tighter around him against the slivers of wind snaking passed him. He could almost smell the snow slowly rolling in from the North in preparation for December. No one was out traversing the town that icy November Sunday and Naruto was pretty sure it wasn't the temperature that kept them indoors.

It just wasn't natural for Konoha to look so empty. Naruto felt as if all the color had drained away from the formerly thriving town. The sky was a wintry gray and shadowed the town accordingly. It was heartbreaking to see what the murders had done to the town so quickly. This troubled Naruto as he dragged himself through the dusty streets. He was more upset about the fear instilled in the townspeople than the death of the girl he loved.

His mind had been dwelling on the funeral day for quite some time. He still didn't understand his reaction and he was constantly comparing it to the grief he saw on Neji's face as he passed by Tenten's grave. He had never felt more than hollow. Even as he went home and lay in his room alone, images of her reeling across his thoughts, he still felt nothing.

He felt dark. All the happiness had drained away from him. He was a shell filled with empty darkness. He was sad and he was mad but, it didn't make him want to explode. Not yet at least. He knew he wanted revenge. He wanted it more than anything - more than wanting her back - which was another thing that troubled him…Shouldn't having her back be what he sought the most? He loved her after all. He'd slept with her…

"Naruto!"

He jumped at the loud sound, the memory of barking doctors and detectives breaking through his not-so-sound mind. He tensed and whirled around to face the direction where the voice had come from. Even when he recognized Hinata, Kiba, and Lee approaching, he still didn't relax. It didn't initially register with him that it was his harmless friends surrounding him.

"I haven't seen you in days Naruto!" Kiba said first when they joined him. "Been busy, huh?"

He didn't answer at first and had to blink a few times to rid himself of the illusion of bared fangs and red eyes speaking to him.

"Um…yeah. I've been busy," he replied, not able to hide the absent sound in his voice.

Kiba and Lee didn't take any notice but, Naruto didn't miss the concern that passed through Hinata's silver eyes.

"How have you been?" Lee badgered him. "When do you come back to school? Everyone's been missing you!"

_Everyone_? Who was 'everyone?' Naruto had a pretty good feeling that Sasuke was included in 'everyone.' It scared Naruto to death knowing that his friends were oblivious to the demon beneath the smiles. It scared him that they trusted Sasuke and were so naïve to his malicious intent. He'd been out of school for a week and it just hit him then that his friends were entirely vulnerable and unprotected. He could lose any one of them at any given moment.

"I'm not sure when I'll be back," Naruto said after regaining his shaken voice. "The police have a lot to ask me."

"O-Oh," Lee faltered. "That's right. I forgot. I'm sorry…"

"…Any leads?" Kiba asked, quietly, after the awkward pause, scuffing the ground with his shoe.

"No," Naruto replied, too quickly, his voice going cold and void as it had been when Kakashi questioned him. "None at all."

Lee cleared his throat to break the unsettling silence creeping over them and said, "Um…why don't we head over to my place and we can have a movie-thon or something?"

"We can order take-out from Ichiraku and everything," Kiba added, though he wasn't as enthusiastic.

Naruto was about to reject them but, the hope in their eyes and the terror in his own heart changed his mind. These were his friends. He had no others. He'd already lost so many people he cared about…Life was to fleeting to take time for granted. His friends were in danger as well as himself. He was the only one that knew of Sasuke's true identity. Surely he could protect them somehow so long as they were all together.

"Should I assume we'll be seeing Shikamaru, Choji, and Sasuke there?"

It took all of his willpower to force Sasuke's name out into his list of friends. It repulsed Naruto that he had to treat Sasuke like an innocent comrade. He knew it would drive him mad but, he couldn't put his friends through the truth. Even as close as they all were, they would never believe him either.

"Sasuke can't make it," Lee said, getting all teary-eyed and over-dramatic. "He and Itachi are working on a project all night."

This made Naruto's heart falter. "_Project_?" All night? It couldn't be. Would they be out killing again?

"Naruto?"

Hinata touched his arm, hesitantly as he went rigid before them. He didn't outwardly respond to the contact but, did snap out of his reeling thoughts enough to reply.

"That's too bad," he said to Lee. "I would have liked to see him after all this time. Oh well. Shall we go?"

Both Lee and Kiba brightened at Naruto's fake smile and headed off to leave. He moved to follow but, Hinata pulled him back with force he didn't know existed in her.

"Naruto…Are you alright? You're acting…unlike yourself."

"I don't know what you're talking about Hinata. I'm perfectly fine," he returned, voice eerily calm.

He pulled out of her delicate grasp, careful not to be to rough and betray his true feelings inside. She clearly did not believe him. He hadn't seen her so determined about anything in quite some time until now. Her wintry gaze bore into his, searching for his true intentions.

"You're not fine," she said, lowering her voice. "You witnessed a murder…"

"I'm very well aware," he replied, struggling to keep his voice smooth. "You'll never have to remind me."

"…I-I'm sorry -"

"Hey! What are you guys doing? Come on! I don't want to be outdoors for much longer."

The two friends glanced down the street at Kiba's call. The two boys were shivering against the cold and shuffling in unease. Naruto spoke back to Hinata quickly, catching her off guard.

"What's done is done. I can't change the past but I can damn well make sure my future is brighter."

He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and hurried after Lee and Kiba. After another hesitation, he heard the girl's footsteps stumble after him. He _would _make sure his future was brighter. In his future, he didn't intend on having Uchiha Sasuke there to destroy him.

* * *

It felt like hours that Naruto stared at the blank screen of his laptop. He had arrived home from Lee's house at around ten o' clock that night. He really appreciated all his friends were doing for him. For hours they had sat around the TV, making fun of celebrity gossip channels and laughing at old comedies. No one had brought up the tragedies in town or Naruto's absence from school. They had all acted so normal, like nothing was going on that could harm them.

Choji gobbled down chips all night and even shared them with everyone instead of hogging them all to himself. Kiba had brought his puppy, Akamaru, to play. Puppies always made everything better, Naruto realized. You were always happy when a puppy was in the room. Shikamaru had brought over some video games. For a while, the boys had been trying to train Hinata in the ways of the gamer. She was getting better and the highlight of that night for Naruto was when Hinata had actually beaten Shikamaru for the first time. Her excitement and Shikamaru's disbelief had actually brought a genuine smile onto his face.

It was only when he'd entered his lonely apartment that Naruto was disheartened by the truths swimming in his head. He had some piece of mind, knowing that none of his friends were going home alone that night. Lee's dad insisted upon driving them all home. Lee went too, so his dad wouldn't be driving home alone. It was a sigh of relief knowing his friends would be safe…well, somewhat safe. If Sasuke was anything like the vampires Naruto was familiar with, what could stop him from taking out a car full of teenagers? That thought was what brought Naruto to his laptop that night. What did he _really _know about vampires? What he saw in movies and read in books was all fiction for all he knew.

That was why it took him so long to decide whether or not to pursue a quest for answers through the internet. Half the information from the web was always false and when he was searching for something that wasn't supposed to exist, there probably would be nothing true to find. A logical idea then came to Naruto. All of these stories had to come from somewhere. Vampires had been in legends and folklore for thousands of years. Such a frenzy couldn't have been sparked solely from some imagination. _Someone somewhere _had to have witnessed _something _like Naruto had to begin the vampire legend and he was determined to find that truth.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself down and gather his thoughts, Naruto turned on his laptop and got online. He opened up a search engine and began by typing the word "vampire." Immediately, his hopes of finding honest sites was crushed. Half the links that came up were for fan clubs, newsletters, book sales, and signings – how was he supposed to know vampires were big in literature right now? Groaning in misery, Naruto flopped back onto his bed and tangled his hands in his blond hair.

"Why?" he whimpered, pathetically.

Naruto dropped his hands and looked at the screen again, feeling hopeless already. He glanced at the search bar and his brows furrowed. Okay. Maybe his search was too broad. Not everything with the word "vampire" in it had to do with gothic romance novels, right? Trying hard to maintain his concentration and confidence, Naruto retried his search, typing in "vampire legends" instead. Well, there was less movie media at least. There was still a lot of fictional book series links though. He scrolled through a few pages in search of a link that could lead to a research source at least. There were one or two that he bookmarked before he tried a different search.

For hours, Naruto scoured the web for reliable information. He was enticed with hundreds of pages of folklore after he'd renewed his search with "history of vampires." Turned out, he was right and not everything with the word "vampire" in it led to a teen romance story. He delved deeper into the story behind "Dracula" and the classic vampires from decades before his time. He was fascinated with the different cultures he found in his search. He hadn't had a clue that the vampire phenomenon had spread so far.

He learned a lot that night but, there was always a seed of doubt in him. Despite all the stories from hundreds of years passed and all the different countries they spread to, he had no idea if anything he read was true. Did garlic _really _steer them away from a home? Did holy water _really _burn their skin? It was far past midnight by now and Naruto was bug-eyed from staring at the screen for so long. He couldn't turn off the laptop yet thought. There had to be _someplace _that had the true answers he was looking for. He tried one more search: "the truth about vampires." The first thing that came up was a list of other options. "Did you mean: the truth about abortion? the truth about hot dogs? the truth about aliens?" et cetera, et cetera. Naruto took no notice of these because he was instantly attracted to the first link beneath the other options. He didn't know why he was so drawn to the title. Maybe it was instinct, maybe it was desperation. It was such a simple and foreboding title that there had to be some seriousness to it, he told himself. The link title curtly read, "We Hunt. We Know…They're Real."

Praying that it wasn't some porn or spam site, Naruto clicked the title and entered the website. His heart felt like a butterfly in his chest as his screen was filled with pictures…pictures of vampires. He just knew they were vampires. Every fiber of his being was telling him that the pale faces staring at him were real. The red eyes were not photo-shopped, the fangs were not plastic, and the skin was not white face paint. There were tons of photos all bunched together and overlapping on the screen like an unorganized bulletin board. Each photo was different. Some were clearly taken by professionals and others were amateur but, caught a good enough picture to give you a relatively good image.

Beneath every photo square was a date and location. Naruto's heart pounded in his chest as his eyes flickered across the screen at each photo. Brazil, May 2007: a photo of a vampire in a café; Korea, December 1992: there was a vampire entering a night club; Canada, March 2007: a female vampire entering an old, castle-like mansion. There were dates going as far back as the 1950s. Some photos were black and white to go along with the old date. Every photo had a setting that fit the location and date. Palm trees swayed in the backdrop for Florida photos, kangaroos hopped in the background for pictures from Australia, snow was on the ground in December, the sun was shining for June, people had fluffed up hair for the 80s, and people held cell phones in photos from 2000-2009.

Naruto stared at the screen for eons it seemed, taking in every detail of every picture. What had he found? Who had found all this proof? Hands shaking, he scrolled down the short page. There was only one place to go past the photos. There was a single link that simply said "Chat." When clicked upon, Naruto was brought to a page with a black background and a chat box with white type. The top of the page said "Ask Away." In the large box, he read that only one person was online with the username "Huntress." Too excited and curious to think about consequences, Naruto clicked "Begin Chat" and a bar popped up in the chat box for him to type in. Heart racing, Naruto typed, "What is this?" He clicked "Enter" and his question appeared in the chat box as:

**Anonymous:** What is this?

He stared at the screen in silence, waiting for "Huntress" to reply since they were the only one online. Their reply darkened his mood immediately. They replied:

**Huntress:** A chat room.

Grinding his teeth in frustration, Naruto typed back:

**Anonymous:** I know that! What is this site?

**Huntress:** Proof.

The reply came so fast that Naruto was caught off guard. He took his hands away from the keyboard for a moment and closed his eyes. His lack of sleep and eagerness was giving him a short fuse. He had finally found some promising information. He couldn't ruin it by having a temper. He took a deep, calming breath and shook his head to clear the sleepiness away. He shook out his hands to loosen up his joints and focused on the chat.

**Anonymous:** Proof about vampires, right?

**Huntress:** That depends.

**Anonymous:** Depends on what?

**Huntress:** Who do you work for.

This made Naruto falter and sigh in annoyance. Great. A paranoid crazy person, convinced that the government was out to get their brain or something. This wasn't going to be easy.

**Anonymous:** No one.

**Huntress:** FBI? CIA? NCIS? NYPD?

**Anonymous:** What the hell? NCIS is for the navy, dumbass. And I live in Japan! We don't have NYPD!

**Huntress:** How do you know what it is then?

**Anonymous:** How does anyone know anything? TV, idiot! Besides, unless you've murdered someone, I doubt any police department of any country would be on this site!

"Damnit!" Naruto growled to himself.

This person was infuriating! He was about to give up on the site, not seeing how any of the photos could be authentic if this crazy person was on. Huntress did not reply to his fuming words for a long time, although it didn't say they had logged off. Just as he was about to slam the laptop shut, a reply appeared beneath his and it made his racing heart stop in its tracks.

**Huntress:** Congratulations Naruto. You passed the test.

They knew his name. How the hell did they know his name? Without his command, his fingers typed in the question. Huntress replied:

**Huntress:** How does anyone know anything? Its not TV by the way. Now tell me why you're here.

He should have been terrified. He should have abandoned the site the second he saw his name. But, he was drawn to the site. The instant he'd read the link, he'd _known _this was where he'd get his answers. He didn't know how and he didn't know why but, he knew he could trust Huntress. They could help him. Somehow, he was sure of it. He just had to stay calm.

**Anonymous:** You won't tell me how you know my name will you.

**Huntress:** Not yet.

**Anonymous:** Fine. I came here for answers.

**Huntress:** About what?

**Anonymous:** Vampires.

**Huntress:** Why? Tell me your story Naruto.

He bit his lip, unsure of himself now. There they went, using his name again. It was discouraging but, he forced himself to reply, keeping it short.

**Anonymous:** The girl I love is dead because of one. I want revenge.

**Huntress:** You're positive?

**Anonymous:** I saw it.

**Huntress:** How much do you know about vampires Naruto?

**Anonymous:** Only what's in movies and books.

**Huntress:** You have a lot to ask me then.

Maybe it was his tiredness making him loopy that made Naruto laugh at this. Maybe it was his relief that someone appeared to be listening to him that made him laugh. He didn't know. He just knew he could finally get answers. He could finally learn how to make Sasuke suffer.

**Anonymous:** Who exactly are you anyway.

**Huntress:** You'll soon learn my name. For now, all you need to know is that I am a hunter.

* * *

"Kakashi!"

The shout awoke the detective from the first sleep he'd had in days. Granted, it was on his office desk and beneath loads of paper but, still…it was sleep nonetheless.

"What is it?" he asked the officer in the office doorway.

"Another murder, sir," he said, gravely.

Kakashi closed his eye and remained calm. He'd planned for this. He couldn't leave in a rush. He had to remember what to bring to get proof for the mayor.

"Okay," he replied to the officer, looking back at his solemn face. "Fetch Asuma and -"

"Detective Hatake!"

Another young officer rushed into the office, pushing the other one out of the way in his rush.

"There's been another murder!" he panted when he stopped in front of the desk.

"I know," Kakashi sighed. "Izumo just told me -"

"No! You don't understand. There's been another one. Two in one night!"

Cold crept over Kakashi at this news. _Two _murders? There were two?

"Locations?" he asked, deftly.

"The town church," the first officer said, voice shaking.

"The Gardens," the second officer said.

"Those are on separate sides of town…" Kakashi said, putting a hand on his head in despair.

"We know…sir," the panting officer before him murmured, hanging his head in hopelessness.

"What are we going to do?" the other asked.

Kakashi had no answer. The only thing he could think about was that now there were two…Now there were two.

* * *

_Arm yourself because no one else here will save you / The odds will betray you and I will replace you / You can't deny the prize it may never fulfill you / It longs to kill you, are you willing to die / The coldest blood runs through my veins / You know my name_


	11. CHAPTER 10 Lies

**~Chapter X~**

_~Lies~_

* * *

_Bound at every limb by my shackles of fear / Sealed with lies through so many tears / Lost from within and pursuing the end / I fight for the chance to be lied to again_

* * *

Empty. When Naruto returned to school after his week long absence, all he saw was emptiness. The carefree and slightly conceited smiles in the halls around him were subdued and unsure. Not one was genuine. They were terrified. It had been two days since the "Double Murders." Two more people were dead. Not much was being released to the public. No one knew the names of the victims. All they knew was the settings in which they were found. A male had been found at the church and a young woman had been found in the Konoha Gardens, which was a town treasure and somewhat of a historical landmark. Both victims were killed the same way as the first two. They were found with those three long, signature cuts.

Hysteria was very evident in the little town. Naruto heard accusations being thrown left and right. The streets were almost always empty. Doors were always locked and windows barricaded. Never had Naruto seen so much mistrust in his town. Never had he felt so much darkness weighing down on his heart. How could he carry on with classes like this? How could any of them carry on? No one could concentrate on the mundane, every day actions in their lives. How could he pretend that he wasn't staring at the face of the murderer?  
The crowds in the hallways before classes began were thinner than they once were. Naruto could make out faces much easier without being jostled around. The snowy faces of the Uchihas vividly stood out against the faded coloring of the school walls. There they sat, leaning up against the lockers and lounging in the hall. It wasn't uncommon. Many of his peers sat against the walls in the morning. But, those two…were they trying to act human? Were they trying to blend in so no one suspected them? Was that it?

He did not go unnoticed by them. Even standing far at the other end of the hallway, those coal black eyes still trained on him. He went cold all over at the freezing intensity of both of their gazes. Despite other students passing between them, never did those eyes falter. Naruto felt like prey. He felt like a rabbit beneath a hawk's predatory eyes. Any hope he had of defending himself from them began to melt away. All it took was a glance. There was so much power in just a single look…

_No!_

Naruto yanked himself up and out of his spiral into hopelessness. He could not show weakness. Vampires fed off fear, Huntress had told him. They were creatures of intimidation. They would not hesitate to take advantage of panicked thoughts. Since he'd discovered that website two days earlier, Naruto had been taking lessons from Huntress in the ways of resisting a vampire. It was time to put his newfound knowledge to the test. The Uchihas would not scare him.

"Naruto."

His voice trotted down the hall and filled his ears as clearly as if he had been standing behind him. He hadn't even seen his lips move. The hallways were gradually emptying, Naruto noticed. The first bell would be ringing soon. This was where he realized that the Uchihas had planned this. They had been anticipating his return to his studies that day and had put themselves in a position where they knew they were likely to encounter him. They were already outsmarting him.

"Why don't you take a step closer, Naruto?" Sasuke said to him, the sound so vivid in his ears it was like there wasn't a twenty foot space between them. "We have some things to discuss with you."

His voice was entirely calm and business-like and the sound was enticing, like brook water lapping over smooth stones. It was one of their powers, Naruto remembered Huntress saying. It was a hunting mechanism, inherited from the days of Sirens and lost sailors. The more appealing the sound was, the more you were lured in. It was a form of hypnotism. He just had to keep control over his own head, Naruto reminded himself. Reassuring himself that he had enough will and sense to maintain power over his mind, Naruto took the first step towards them.

He was on his own, he noted as his slow footsteps echoed back to him from the empty hall. His peers were in the safety of their classrooms by now, even though the first bell had yet to ring. There was no one to hear whatever was about to pass between them. He bet they planned for that too. Naruto was sure they weren't planning on killing him, however. No matter how empty the halls were, they were still in a public place. They wouldn't dare harm him if they wanted to remain undiscovered.

And yet, as he drew closer and closer and their features grew even clearer, he felt as if his last breaths were only moments away. It was their powers again, Naruto reminded himself. The icy atmosphere surrounding them and their unwavering gazes were designed to discourage. He was stronger than that, Naruto silently insisted. He was strong enough to at least stand up straight and look them in the eyes without wavering. He knew he could handle that much.

His feet rooted themselves to the tiled floor as he arrived before the Uchihas. They did not rise to meet him and their postures didn't shift in the slightest. They did not fear him for the knowledge he possessed. Why should they? Naruto thought. They could make him disappear with a snap of their fingers if he ended up being a major risk. Despite being in the higher position, Naruto still felt puny. Both pairs of glacial eyes continued to bore him down and superiority radiated off of them in waves.

"You've accused me of murder, Naruto," Sasuke said from his place on the floor, his marble lips fluttering apart like curtains in the breeze.

Naruto struggled to focus on Sasuke while staying vaguely aware of Itachi beside him. The older brother was clearly the more dangerous. Naruto had always thought so, from the day he first saw them drift down the halls, until now. He was definitely the more deadly of the two. His eyes were much colder than Sasuke's and – especially now – were much more ruthless. Naruto was fully conscious to the fact that if Itachi made a move, there would be no chance of escape for him. _Maybe _he could stand a chance against Sasuke but, it was hardly a glimmer of a chance. He had to be careful. He was already teetering on the line between life and death just by standing so close to them.

"Is this where you try to deny it?" Naruto asked in response to Sasuke's words, hating the rough sound to his voice in comparison to the Uchiha's smooth, flawless one.

"Yes," Sasuke answered, fluidly, those eyes catching every tiny detail in Naruto's stance. "This is where I try to make you understand the truth."

"I _know _the truth," Naruto growled, his eyes narrowing and his voice going cold. "I saw what you really are."

"I'm well aware of what you saw," Sasuke said. "What you saw was a monster standing over your dying girlfriend. It was that you saw and nothing more."

Naruto's teeth ground together in fury at the way Sasuke referred to Sakura. There was no remorse in his voice and no guilt passed in the black tundras of his eyes. She was nothing to him. Never had Naruto seen such blatant disregard for a life. It made his blood come to a simmer and he lost his self-control. Despite Huntress's typed warnings, he could not contain his rage.

"You bastard!" he roared, his backpack collapsing off of his shoulder as he moved to attack Sasuke.

Pain shot up Naruto's arm and he bit the side of his mouth to contain his yelp of agony. His hand had made it a few inches away from grasping Sasuke's shirt before Itachi lashed out and clutched his wrist. Damnit! He'd made all the mistakes he had vowed he would not make. He had not been able to maintain his awareness of both Uchihas and he had allowed Sasuke's words to probe into his vengeful thoughts to trigger his emotions. Now he was trapped. Itachi had his wrist twisted in preparation for breaking. With the slightest addition of pressure, Naruto would be back on his way to the hospital.

"Itachi," Sasuke murmured to his brother, turning a stern glance to him. "It's alright. Let him go, please."

Itachi made no move that indicated he had even heard Sasuke. Naruto glanced up once to dare and look into the vampire's eyes. It was near impossible not to allow terror to seep into every fiber of his being at the vicious gleaming in that gaze. There was nothing to hint that there was room for compromise. It appeared to Naruto that it was inevitable - in Itachi's mind - that he would not walk away without screaming in pain. The Uchiha was not planning on letting him go as Sasuke had asked of him. Naruto could almost see the plots to make his injury seem accidental flashing in those dark orbs.

"Itachi – "

"You never have to repeat yourself to me, Sasuke," Itachi retorted, those malicious eyes never looking away from his trapped prey, "just as I never have to obey you."

Naruto felt hurt pouring off of Sasuke at Itachi's harsh words. The blond did not glance away from his fearsome captor, however. He had to be able to stare him down. He had already failed to prevent the two of them from penetrating his mind and bringing forth his rage. He had to at least show no fear. He did not struggle against Itachi's vice grip, knowing that would only make him panic more. He let his wrist go lax and numbed his mind to try and remain unfazed by Itachi's bloodthirsty glower.

"Itachi, please," Sasuke whispered and Naruto could have sworn he heard a faint hint of desperation in his voice. "This won't solve anything. If you hurt him, it'll just make things worse."

This just seemed to anger Itachi even further. Naruto could hear the crunching of his ivory teeth as they ground together in his mouth. He refrained from flinching at the sound and tried to hold onto the Uchiha's gaze. His blue eyes were quivering in protest as he forced them to continue to look forward. He could not allow himself to be afraid. If he could stare Itachi down, he knew he would have the strength to defend himself against them later. He just had to hold on…

Sasuke's porcelain-like hand landed upon Itachi's, wound around Naruto's wrist. It almost felt like gravity had suddenly ceased to exist when those vicious eyes finally released his own. Naruto felt weightless as the pressure left his shoulders. His hand was still locked in those freezing fingers but, he felt like he could finally breathe again. He had done it. He had held out beneath Uchiha Itachi's smothering gaze. The tension between the two brothers was just as ferocious. The intensity in Itachi's glare had not lessened, only shifted to Sasuke. The younger brother met his gaze, trying to hide his disappointment and hurt with cool levelness. This silent exchange of emotions and opinions lasted for barely a second before the bell rang.

Naruto was jolted back to his surroundings at the obnoxious sound. It felt like it had been decades since he was last free of the Uchihas' cold stares. He blinked once to readjust to the world around him. He was in the school hallway. The first bell had just sounded. Itachi was gone. One instant, he was sitting right before him, prepared to snap his wrist in two. As Naruto had blinked, he had swiftly departed. Now, only he and Sasuke remained, the latter now on his feet and watching Naruto with melancholy eyes.

"I did not kill her Naruto," the vampire said as the human flexed his finally free wrist and straightened to confront him.

The challenging conversation was not yet at an end, Naruto chided himself. He could handle Sasuke now that his devil of a brother was gone. The blond shouldered back on his fallen backpack and calmly faced the black-haired demon. He was not dissuaded by the conflicted feelings now visible in those black depths. They were not for him and they were not for Sakura. He was only upset that things hadn't gone his way. Naruto would not be persuaded to empathize with him.

"It doesn't matter how much you deny it," Naruto said, colder than he thought was possible for a mortal such as himself. "Nothing will change what I saw."

"And nothing will change what you think you know; nothing but proof of our innocence."

It was not a question. Sasuke had come to terms with Naruto's lust for vengeance. It was a bitter realization for the vampire. There was no hope of changing Naruto's mind unless the true killer was brought to justice.

"There is nothing innocent about you," Naruto said, venomously. "I will never think otherwise. I despise you and I will make sure neither you nor anyone else of your kind will kill another person in Konoha."

"What a shame," Sasuke whispered, gazing solemnly at the vengeful mortal before him. "I was really hoping you and I would be good friends. I'm sorry that'll never happen."

A broken smile twitched on his lips and the sorrow in those eyes was so difficult to resist. Then he was gone. Naruto's eyes twitched in hesitation at the intense emotions swirling in those orbs and then, Uchiha Sasuke was gone. Naruto found he could not move at first. The shock of the situation that had just transpired slowly sunk into his pores. As he stood alone in the hallway, standing alive and breathing evenly, Naruto realized what he had achieved. He had looked in the eyes of two vampires, without fear, and he had lived.

* * *

As he had anticipated, Naruto's friends were beyond ecstatic about having him back in school. Every time he spoke with them on that first day back, he always asked himself what he had done to deserve such good friends. They knew exactly what he was going through and knew exactly how to act and talk around him. Not once did they bring up Sakura or his interrogation sessions. They acted as if he'd never taken a leave of absence and he appreciated the normalcy they enveloped him in. The last thing he wanted was pity.

He hadn't looked forward to lunch that day, especially not after his confrontation with Sasuke that morning. He was both relieved and suspicious when he did not see the vampire waiting for him at the cafeteria table. This aroused many frantic queries from Lee. The boy was obsessed with Sasuke, Naruto was sure of it, and he didn't know if it was from the Uchiha's supernatural charms or a history geek attraction. Either way, it concerned him, greatly. He didn't know how he could keep his friends safe from the threat of the vampire when they had already accepted him as their trustworthy friend.

Though he didn't join them at their designated table, Sasuke did attend lunch that day. Naruto's cerulean eyes zeroed in on the cafeteria entrance upon Sasuke's arrival. Those arctic eyes transfixed upon him for a fraction of a second before flitting away to look elsewhere. His friends around him did not appear to notice Sasuke's entrance or how he melted around his obstacles to join two individuals on the other side of the room. Naruto's heart had flip-flopped in concern when he saw Sasuke greet Dosu, of all people.

"So, were there any problems while I was gone?" Naruto asked his friends when he heard a break in their chatter, trying to sound casual and curious.

"Well, what do you mean by problems?" Kiba asked after sharing confused glances with his peers.

"I mean Zaku and all the bullying," Naruto clarified, adding a hint of disgust to his voice to keep up with his act.

"Oh!" Lee spoke up upon understanding the question. "Zaku's actually been absent for quite some time. It's been a real breath of fresh air, actually."

"Dosu and Kin haven't been a bother?" Naruto pressed, struggling not to glance over at where he knew Sasuke was conversing with the scarred student.

"Nothing," Lee answered, shaking his head.

"There's really not much to them without Zaku," Shikamaru added, fiddling with a potato chip in boredom, graciously provided by Choji.

Naruto nodded in agreement, although he wasn't entirely listening to his friends. His attempts at being discreet weren't so as he analyzed the Uchiha conversing with the bully across the room. His friends hadn't seemed to notice, at least not yet.

Sasuke smiled at Dosu. Dosu glared at him. Neither was happy to be in acquaintance. The day prior, the boy had approached him with a message from Tsunade. Sasuke was shocked to discover the silent shadow of Abumi Zaku shared in his society. He scolded himself for not recognizing him as one of his own earlier. Dosu had informed him that it was suspected that Zaku – having been missing for many days now – had been recruited by the Konoha Killer (a working title for the madman). The "Double Murders" were enough to convince the Council of Zaku possibly being turned.

Sasuke felt obligated to stay close to the nearly discovered vampire. He was Tsunade's spy – and therefore on his side. Regardless, he really didn't like the boy, which the he mirrored much more visibly. Kin glanced between them from where she was sitting at her and Dosu's table. She was clearly ignorant to her friend's identity and nervous about Sasuke's proximity – he had frightened her the day he'd fended Zaku away from his…former friends.

"Mind if I take a seat?" Sasuke finally said, conversationally. "I was hoping you could help me with this new chapter we've reached in Chemistry."

Dosu's eye narrowed – the majority of his face was covered in bandages and Sasuke wasn't about to ask why (no one else in the school had). The Uchiha had fabricated his cover story for continuing to speak with Dosu last night. The spy was quick to play along – his orders were much stricter than his distaste for the boy. Grudgingly, he nodded for Sasuke to take the empty seat that Zaku had once occupied before sitting beside Kin across the table.

"You're…tutoring?" Kin coughed, trying to clear the nerves from her throat as Sasuke sat down. "Dosu, since when do you help people?"

He didn't reply, instead continuing to glare at Sasuke. Sasuke continued to smile. He was more focused on the intense burning in the back of his skull from Naruto's diamond gaze across the room, cold and ruthless as a dagger. That was some impressive rage for a mere human, Sasuke thought. He hadn't seen such fervor in an ordinary person's expression for quite some time. It was only slightly daunting; Sasuke didn't believe for one second that Naruto stood a chance against him or Itachi. It just disappointed him that their friendship had died just as it began. He refocused on the table before him when Kin said something to him.

"So…will you be sitting with us from now on?" she had asked, choosing her words very carefully, like she was afraid he'd tear her throat out if she said something wrong.

He turned on the charm as he attempted to ease her fright over him – he hadn't realized he'd had such an affect on her that day. "Maybe," he said. "I hate to impose but, my grades do depend on Dosu here. My counselor was very insistent upon me spending as much as my free periods getting help as possible. If you're uncomfortable though, of course I don't mind sitting elsewhere."

The look in Dosu's eye agreed whole-heartedly with his offer. Kin bit her lip in guilt though. She clearly hadn't meant that she wanted him to go elsewhere, regardless of her discomfort. Dosu tensed unhappily when the girl quickly said, "Of course, I don't mind!" (she was lying) "Um, stay as long as you need to."

An unsure smile crossed Kin's lips, proving how wary she still was of him. Sasuke smiled and sat back, gloating to Dosu at how easily he seemed to be gaining her trust. It was no secret to Sasuke that the man was totally disgusted at the fact that he had wormed his way into their table. The Uchiha soaked up the irritation with a pleased smile on his face. Kin was oblivious to the dislike between the two.

"So, you're _really _tutoring Sasuke?" Kin asked Dosu again and the man growled in annoyance.

She was unfazed and the change in her attitude was quite vivid to Sasuke. Her true personality peeked out when she spoke to her friend. There was a teasing and playful air about her that Sasuke really hadn't seen much of unless she was with her friend. He hadn't intended to turn his simple observation into a foreboding thought but, his pessimistic side outweighed his optimism. Would she be so carefree and open with Dosu if she knew the truth about him? Sasuke had gotten the impression that they had known each other for a long time but, would that time together matter if she knew what he truly was?

Sasuke had been asking himself that question a lot lately. Since Naruto had seen him in his state of bloodlust, Sasuke was beginning to fear that all humans were as prone to overreact. Could his kind ever be accepted in society? One second, they were revered and the next, they were persecuted. They were objects of fascination and then, objects of fear. Was it even worth it to make mortal friends, he'd been wondering. That had been his entire purpose behind returning to Konoha; that and re-immersing himself in his family's history, in addition to resettling into his childhood home. He'd sought to fake a normal existence. He should have listened to Itachi. He should have known he couldn't hide what he was. He could only hope he could keep Naruto quiet and make sure his friends didn't figure out what he was. Easy, Sasuke reassured himself, although he knew it was a lie.

* * *

Naruto was on his laptop the instant he got home. He had practically run out of the school building after the final bell. He had looked over both shoulders in anticipation of being followed on his way to the bus across the lot. Also, no car had gone unwatched outside his bus window. Although he didn't see any ritzy, black vehicles cruising after him during the drive home, he did not let his guard down until he had crossed the threshold into his apartment.

Even when he was in the sanctity of his own home, he did not relax. He turned on every light in the small apartment to kill any shadows that a vampire could lurk in, undetected. He double checked every window and the door. Huntress had given him the basic facts about vampires. The aversion to garlic had turned out to be true, which had shocked Naruto. Out of all the weaknesses vampire's allegedly had, he had not expected the one about garlic to be true. Vampires were deathly allergic to the bulb, said Huntress. It was like kryptonite to Superman. When inhaled, vampires would slowly begin to be drained of their powers. It made them thirsty to the point of vampiric dehydration - which Naruto had never known about – and it stung their eyes to the point where they began to bleed.

With this knowledge in mind, Naruto had doused every entrance in his apartment with garlic powder and a dash of wolfsbane. It wasn't as effective as garlic – causing a sneeze more than an asthma attack – but, Naruto wasn't taking any chances. He had been surprised to read the truth about holy water. Turned out, it didn't work on _all _vampires. Statistics said that about only half of the vampiric population could be negatively affected by blessed water. Huntress hadn't gone into detail about why and there was no way for Naruto to know if the Uchihas were a part of the immune half. Regardless, Naruto's dresser was overflowing with blessed spray bottles and carved stakes. A lot of the classic legends were apparently true and he'd had no trouble aiming himself. Drop a cross in water and it was holy. Get a branch and sharpen it, you had a stake. That was the easy part.

The difficulty began when you started hunting. Vampires were unpredictable and lethally accurate in their attacks. There was a 99.9% chance of you winding up dead if you went up against them. It was discouraging, of course but, Naruto would not allow himself to give up. He still had a lot to learn. If he focused and hated them enough, he was confident that he would survive. It was as Huntress said: he couldn't be afraid. Sitting on his bed and feeling somewhat secure, Naruto opened up to the chat box. Huntress seemed to know a lot and had clearly seen a lot of vampires by the big photo collage when you first entered the site. Could they know something about the Uchihas, Naruto wondered.

**Anonymous: **Have you ever heard the name Uchiha before?

Many things still bugged Naruto about Huntress and the site. The fact that they knew his name without him giving it scared the crap out of him. Another thing was that Huntress always seemed to be the only one logged in. Was the information he was receiving truly honest? Was Huntress really a vampire hunter or had he walked into a scam? All his worries were swiped away when the reply came.

**Huntress: **I have.

No con artist would know that in reference to vampires, right? Licking his lips in concentration, Naruto typed in another question.

**Anonymous: **How?

**Huntress: **They've been around for quite some time.

**Anonymous: **How long?

**Huntress: **Three hundred years.

**Anonymous: **Where did you first hear about them?

**Huntress: **Why are you asking about the Uchihas?

**Anonymous: **They're the ones I want to slay.

Huntress's reply wasn't as quick as it usually was. Had he caught them off guard? Was it really that much of a surprise that it was the Uchihas he was after?

**Huntress: **You think the Uchihas killed this loved one of yours.

**Anonymous: **I know.

Hadn't he had the exact same conversation that morning? That's when Naruto's heart missed a beat. Could it be…that the person on the other side of the screen was…

**Anonymous: **Who are you!

**Huntress: **You'll fine out in

**Anonymous: **TELL ME NOW! Sasuke you son of abitch! If its you

**Huntress: **Calm down you stupid kid. Quit overreacting.

Overreacting? He called it overreacting? Of course he would call it overreacting. He didn't feel what humans felt. He didn't know the meaning of the word betrayal. He didn't know how it felt to be terrified. Naruto could die, he realized. The garlic treatment, the holy water…it could all be a lie!

**Anonymous: **Damn you! i'll make sure u pay! it doesnt matter how much u've mislead me i will find a way 2 beat you!

**Huntress: **Typical teenagers. There's no way to get past those hard heads of yours.

After the curt response, Huntress's name was swiped from the screen as he logged off. Naruto's heart was racing in panic. What now? Were they coming to kill him? He knew it was Sasuke. It just had to be! They knew his name. They had said similar things to him. They had lied to him. He was totally vulnerable. Naruto jumped to his feet to do something but, he didn't have the slightest clue as of what. What could he do? What really worked against vampires? He had no way of knowing what could weaken or kill a vampire since Sasuke lied to him.

How could he be so foolish? How could he have not known it was them? They were vampires. They could do anything and everything. Their connections were limitless. They had caught him. He was trapped. His heart felt like it was going to explode. The beat raced faster and faster like a runaway freight train as his hysteria grew more and more. He stumbled over to the first window he saw, digging his nails into the wooden windowsill. The stench of garlic flooded his nostrils as his frantic eyes scanned the outside world beyond the glass. Were they there? Were they watching him, waiting to kill him? How did he defend himself? He couldn't die yet. He _could not _be their next victim. He couldn't, he just couldn't!

Everyone was against him, Naruto realized. He was on his own. There was no one to help him. He felt hollow inside as this fact settled over him. Suddenly, he felt sick to his stomach and he rushed to the bathroom and puked his guts out in the toilet. It didn't last long and he quickly flushed the contents and rinsed his mouth out with mouthwash. He leaned over the sink, gasping for breath. When he looked in the bathroom mirror, all he saw was a terrified little kid. He saw a messed up teenager that had seen far too much so early on in his life. Was that the face everyone was seeing on him lately? Was that what the Uchihas saw?

His heart stilled and his eyes narrowed into a glare. He wanted Sasuke to fear him. He wanted to be able to tower over Itachi's devilish glower. He wanted them to run from him. He wanted them to feel as scared as he was. He wanted to show them that they didn't have all the power…but how? That terrified face in the mirror couldn't do any of that. How did he get rid of it? Did he have to give up his humanity? Did he have to be a human monster and frighten all his friends away along with the real monsters? Would he have to give up his friends to get his revenge? Surely, they wouldn't be safe if he killed this innocent face in the mirror with that of a killer instinct.

The more Naruto stared back at his wild, deer-in-headlights eyes, the more he sought to mask it with one of bloodlust and cold calculation. He didn't want to be scared. He wanted to be able to look into red eyes without screaming. He wanted to match the flash of fangs with a stake. He had felt that way lately. He had slipped in and out of it, multiple times. He wanted that state of mind to stay. The only goal set into his mind as he gazed at his unruly reflection was to destroy the Uchihas. If he had to give up his friends to do it, so be it. If he had to act as the monsters he wanted to kill…then so be it.

* * *

_They'll never see, I'll never be / I'll struggle on and / On to feed this hunger / Burning deep inside of me_


	12. CHAPTER 11 New Divide

**~Chapter XI~**

_~New Divide~_

* * *

_There was nothing in sight but memories left abandoned / There was nowhere to hide, the ashes fell like snow / And the ground caved in between where we were standing / And your voice was all I heard that I get what I deserve_

* * *

If you placed a human being in the dark car of the Uchiha brothers while they were driving home from school that frigid, November afternoon, said human being would more than likely be suffocated with how heavy the atmosphere was in the confined space. The brothers had been going through a lot of tension those past few weeks so it wasn't a new occurrence but, this stress was high over the moon and maybe past Mars. The same thing was on each of their minds: _they never fought_! They never _seriously _fought. Any fighting they usually did was either pretend or petty. There was nothing they couldn't agree on. It had always been as so.

Unbeknownst to each other, both brothers were conflicted as to whether or not they should say something to break the silence. Sasuke formulated an apologetic rant in his head – even though their problem wasn't his fault – and Itachi struggled with trying to remember how you went about begging for forgiveness. Neither brother got their speeches out before they pulled into the long driveway. When Sasuke exited the vehicle, the explosion of subtle, miniscule sounds in his ears almost staggered him in comparison to the deathly silence in the car.

His eyes trained upon the majestic house in front of him, resisting the urge to glance over the roof of the car to his stony brother. He wondered what would happen when they crossed the threshold into the ancient mansion. He knew they couldn't contain their troubles for much longer. He was already having enough issues trying to contain his unnecessary apologies. Sasuke took the first step up the concrete path to the front door and listened intently to Itachi's feather-light footfalls following him. The few steps it took to reach the front stairs felt like an eternity whilst walking at such a human pace. Sasuke didn't look back at his brother but, the feeling of having him walk so close behind him made his spine tingle with longing.

They reached the front door and Sasuke laid his hand on the door handle to open it. Upon pressing it down, the younger Uchiha realized that it was locked and Itachi had the keys. Sure, he could have just snapped the handle free of the lock and spared himself the lusting feeling at Itachi's next movement but, his longing to have his lover's arm around him outweighed his need to be inside. His hand melted from the bronze handle as Itachi's arm fluidly lifted to slide the key into the lock. Sasuke's eyes fell shut at how the movement leaned Itachi's chest against his back and how his long hair mingled with his own.

Itachi prolonged twisting the key to allow them entrance and leaned his head against his companion's, breathing in his sweet, frosty scent and feeling his raven locks tickling his cheek. His hand that wasn't pressed around the key, reached up and rested on Sasuke's arm, gently. Itachi's midnight eyes slid to the side to catch his brother's pale profile and turned his head in ever so slightly so his lips caressed his earlobe. The older Uchiha caught a brief glimmer of a reaction from the younger, where his marble lips pursed and his slight brows furrowed as if in contemplation. Itachi's lips trailed down to Sasuke's jaw-line like a whispery wind and, simultaneously, his fingers pressed against he key to unlock the door.

In a rush of calm, easy wind, Itachi swept Sasuke inside and gently trapped him against the barely stirred door. The younger's onyx eyes drifted open to meet his brother's identical ones and his dead heart twisted at the intense emotions swirling in those dark confines. Yet again, silence surrounded them but, this time it was more tranquil and filled with mutual understanding. As they gazed at one another, they each read one another's unspoken apologies. It was a quick, silent exchange that they locked up inside to never be forgotten. Exhaling slightly and washing chilled breath over Sasuke's equally cold skin, Itachi leaned his forehead against the others, their dark bangs melding together.

"I'm sorry," came the breathy apology before the elder laid a chaste kiss upon Sasuke's lips. "I'm so sorry."

Itachi's mouth connected with Sasuke's, pressing him deeper against the door. The younger responded by sliding his white fingers along the side of his brother's face and down to play with the collar of his jacket.

"It's not your fault," Sasuke whispered when they broke apart for an instant. "I understand why you were so angry and I'm sorry for that."

"It doesn't matter," he said. "I shouldn't have said what I did to you."

"I deserved it."

"No! Absolutely not," Itachi immediately disagreed, cupping Sasuke's face with both hands. "You were right and I was wrong. Hurting the brat would have only made our situation ten times worse. I understand that now."

"Why haven't the Council done anything about him?" Sasuke asked, not expecting an answer. "Don't they know how much of a threat he is?"

"I don't know," Itachi sighed, resting his head against Sasuke's again. "There's something they're not telling us. Jiraiya and Tsunade know something we don't."

"You noticed, huh?" Sasuke managed to chuckle.

"I notice a lot of things," he replied, countering Sasuke's laugh with a small smile, and kissing him again.

"What are we going to do about all of this?" Sasuke sighed afterwards, leaning his head against the door, lazily.

"Investigate," Itachi replied, twining his hands with Sasuke's and gently tugging him away from the door and slowly leading him upstairs. "Isn't that what you've wanted to do from the beginning?"

"It couldn't hurt to give it a try, could it?" Sasuke responded, raising a slightly mischievous brow at the thought of getting to sleuth a little bit.

"With our combined genius, we could probably solve the mystery ourselves," Itachi added, cockily, making Sasuke laugh again.

Itachi smiled and reveled at the sound. He wondered how Sasuke had been able to forgive him so quickly. He had been planning on being given the blizzard cold shoulder for a few days. He had thought Sasuke would be much more stubborn to his actions begging for forgiveness. Naruto's knowledge and the continuing murders were a lot of stress for the two of them. Fighting with each other would not have made coping any easier. Looking into Sasuke's eyes, Itachi saw that he was just as grateful for not having to fight amongst themselves. It wouldn't have made existence any easier.

"Where do you want to start?" Itachi asked as the two entered the bedroom.

Sasuke took a seat in the middle of the bed, his sleek, black laptop seeming to materialize in his lap with his swift retrieval. Itachi swept to the mini bar and poured each of them a bloody beverage.

"The best place to start would be where it all began, wouldn't it?" Sasuke said, crossing his legs and getting situated.

"So, with this Tenten girl?" Itachi said, settling down on the edge of the bed beside Sasuke.

"That's the plan," the younger said, accepting the drink offered to him and flicking open the machine.

"You haven't hacked in a while," Itachi noted, sipping from his glass before setting it down beside him and preparing to trek into confidential terrain.

"No problem," Itachi replied, resting his chin on Sasuke's shoulder and carefully watching the screen.

Sasuke's fingers danced across the black keyboard like a spider's scrambling legs. Boxes popped up left and right on the computer screen, filled with numbers and letters, warnings and "access granted." Sasuke had always been better at tech stuff than Itachi. He could never get past such high blockades as quickly as he could. Sasuke keyed in a password in the last pop-up standing between him and the evidence he sought and then drank from his glass as he waited for something to load.

"You're amazing," Itachi sighed, nuzzling his brother's neck, affectionately, as a dark screen filled with murder case files filled the screen.

Sasuke smirked, slightly smug, at his work and tilted forward to read the titles of some of the folders.

"Where would these murders be?" Sasuke wondered out loud, opening a folder titled, "Under Investigation."

The four case files the Uchihas sought sat within the digital folder, each titled with the victims' names and ages: Tenten – 18, Haruno Sakura – 17, Shigure – 22, Hisame – 28. Sasuke entered Tenten's murder case file and the screen filled with case photos and a victim profile.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Itachi asked as he drew away from his red glass, absently sloshing the contents with a slight twitch of his wrist.

"A connection, I suppose," the younger responded, eyes zipping through the history of the victim before scrolling down to examine the gory photos. "What do they all have in common?"

"Well, the three gashes is a given," Itachi noted, tilting his head to the side, slightly, as he gazed at the first photo of the mangled body.

"This first murder was the most staged," Sasuke said, pointing at a photo taken farther away and that captured the red-leaved tree the body lay beneath, matching the ocean of blood at its roots. "The killer definitely wanted us to know he wasn't human."

"'Us' specifically or 'us' as a whole?"

"Us, specifically."

"You really think this thing is trying to get our attention and nothing else?" Itachi questioned his companion, drawing away slightly to look at his concentrated expression.

"What else could it be trying to do?" Sasuke rebuked, not turning his gaze from the macabre screen.

"We're not the only ones in this town, Sasuke. It could be trying to flag down anyone, if that is in fact what it's trying to do."

"It _has _to be us," Sasuke insisted, memorizing every detail in Tenten's case file before moving on to the next one. "There was not a scrap of violence in this town before we came. Besides, we're the only suspects in the investigation. You don't think that's all a coincidence do you?"

Sakura's file popped up on the screen, making Sasuke falter. A heavy silence, filled with regret, breezed through the room as the younger brother looked at the first, smiling photo on the profile, taken for identification purposes. Itachi's maroon eyes narrowed at Sasuke's rigid reaction and they turned to look, intently, at his lover.

"What are you thinking about?" the elder Uchiha asked, carefully.

"Honestly?" Sasuke said, allowing his frosty breath to tumble past his lips in an exasperated sigh. "I was thinking of Naruto."

"Of course," Itachi mumbled with more resentment in his voice than intended.

"Why do you hate him so much?" Sasuke asked, softly and tentatively, not seeking to bring up an argument.

"He is a threat to our existence," he answered, flatly. "He knows our secret."

"That's not his fault. It was lack of speed and hesitation on my part."

"Regardless, his knowledge makes him dangerous."

"And that automatically means you have to hate him?"

Itachi's fingers tightened around his half-empty glass and Sasuke tried to concentrate on the sound of his half-empty glass, resisting the pressure that threatened to shatter it, instead of his brother's frustrated gaze. Said Uchiha flicked his eyelids down to curtain his pupils and he took a moment to recompose himself. He didn't want to fight; neither of them did. Also, neither knew why the topic of Uzumaki Naruto was so sensitive.

"How do you feel about him if you don't hate him?" Itachi asked, slowly, sitting cold and statue-like, weighing the bed down like a cinderblock would.

His eyes remained veiled from Sasuke which made it more difficult for him to read into what he was thinking. The raven-haired Uchiha took an unsure breath and spoke the honest thoughts swimming in his head.

"I pity him. He hasn't had an easy life. His friends told me that he really doesn't have much of a family. His parents went missing a while back and his godfather abandoned him to foster care. Now, to top it all off, someone else in his life was murdered and he's gotten it into his head that I've betrayed him. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to cope. I can't compare. I've been very fortunate."

Itachi's eyes blinked back open to meet Sasuke's sad but, thankful smile. The elder's cold eyes softened at the innocent and lax expression and his porcelain-like hand fell down over one of Sasuke's. Each brother leaned in and touched foreheads again before sharing another "forgiveness kiss."

"I'm sorry, again," Itachi sighed, feeling like a complete and utter idiot.

"Its okay, again," Sasuke giggled, the velvety sound stirring warmth within Itachi's stiff heart.

"I love you," the elder murmured.

"Forever and always?" Sasuke teased.

"Yeah. Forever and always."

They exchanged another meaningful kiss and then returned to their investigation like the conversation had never transpired.

"He didn't get a chance to stage this one since we showed up," said Sasuke, trying to treat Sakura's murder like he had just treated Tenten's.

"Do you remember anything about him that stands out?" Itachi asked, finishing the remainder of his drink.

"No," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "Just the wings caught me off guard. Nothing else really stood out."

"Let's move on then," said the older brother, discarding his glass and returning in a blink.

Shigure's body had been staged at the church, hung on the cross above the front door. The same three gashes were evident, just as clean and accurate as the first two victims. Sasuke shivered at the disturbing resemblance to Christ. He didn't know what the killer was trying to convey through such grotesque imagery. Was the depiction supposed to symbolize something? Was it supposed to be a biblical reference? The Uchihas couldn't make sense of Shigure's killing.

The woman named Hisane had been left in Konoha's Gardens, a botanical attraction. Her body had been found, woven in a thorny rosebush. Sasuke shut his eyes at the gruesome photo and it took him a moment to regain control of his lurching stomach. He hadn't felt so revolted in decades. Itachi's hand found his shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze while his free hand closed out the case file, ridding the screen of the disturbing murder.

"What do you make of it?" Itachi asked his brother when he reopened his eyes and the bizarre nausea had passed.

"I don't know," the Uchiha sighed, letting the laptop fall shut. "The only one that seems to say anything is the first. The rest is just a trail of breadcrumbs. I just have no idea where it leads too."

* * *

"Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto started at the sound of his name. He hadn't slept a wink the previous night for fear of losing a chunk of his neck while his eyes were closed. He'd been half asleep in the past two classes and it caught him off guard that the teacher this class was calling on him. He was preparing to be ridiculed in front of the class – since teachers loved doing that to their students – but, he was confused when he saw the teacher gesturing to the classroom door. He was being kicked out for being half asleep? That had never happened before.

"Naruto, there are some people outside that have requested to see you," the teacher explained to him after seeing his weary eyes, concern furrowing her brow.

Naruto ran a hand through his disheveled hair and tried to rub the sleep from his bleary eyes but, to no avail. He was aware of the curious stares from around the room following him as he rose from his seat and dragged his backpack over his shoulder. He glanced up at his worried teacher as he passed, wondering who on earth was taking him out of class. Then, the panic ensued. He jolted into awareness as his situation caught up with him. What if it was a trap? What if it was the vampires waiting for him beyond the door? Since his paranoia over Huntress, Naruto had learned to not underestimate _anything _suspicious that popped up in his life. Such creatures as the Uchihas appeared where you least expected them and posed as people of the safest occupations, such as the two detectives waiting for him in the hallway.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" the red-haired woman asked to clarify his identity.

Blue eyes narrowed in wariness, the blond nodded, slowly, glancing between the two and trying to discern whether or not they were dangerous.

"I'm Detective Tayuya," the black-clad woman introduced herself, flashing her badge for clarification. "This is my partner, Jirobo. We have some questions to ask you in regards to the recent murders about town."

Hmm...All in all, they appeared human. Their skin tone was the same as his except not as tan. He could very visibly see their chests rising and falling with their breathing. Their eyes, although acute and searching, weren't as still and unmoving as those of the Uchihas. The male detective, Jirobo, was intent upon him, however. It made him uneasy but, he was almost positive that it was solely the intimidating detective stare. Kakashi gave it to him a lot and he believed that he had developed a damn good poker face because of it. It appeared that it was time to put that to the test.

"I've already given my statement to multiple officers," he said, coolly, responding to Jirobo's stare with a defiant one of his own.

"I didn't ask you for a statement," Tayuya shot back, snapping the boy's gaze to meet her calculating and sly one. "I'm _telling _you to answer my questions. Now, walk with us."

Well…he hadn't been expecting that. She was awfully…abrasive. She wasn't really giving him any choice – and he was pretty sure that was the point. Tayuya turned and started down the hallway, clearly having no doubt that the two would follow her. Jirobo's judging gaze did not falter over Naruto once, not even when his partner departed. Feeling uneasy, the blond trudged after Tayuya and her heavy-set partner shadowed him. Was he safe? Naruto kept on asking himself as the hallway doors fell behind him. Were they really who they said they were? Were these people monsters, just like the Uchihas?

"Sit down," Tayuya ordered more than offered him when they exited the building and arrived at a picnic table sitting near the front entrance.

Naruto hesitated and his breath caught in his throat in fright when Jirobo roughly shoved him onto the bench.

"Hey!" the boy protested, heart racing at the treatment.

Police officers didn't force you to do anything, did they? He didn't think they were even allowed. Glancing between the two foreboding characters, he seriously doubted either of them were of the occupations they claimed. Great. What was he going to do?

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to stop the shaking in his voice.

Tayuya crouched in front of him, giving him the impression of a tiger with her dangerously flashing eyes.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself?" she growled. "I want answers. I don't buy your repetitive statement claiming you can't remember the face of Haruno Sakura's murderer. You know exactly who did it and if you don't give me the name within the next three seconds I'll have you put in jail for obstruction of justice."

"Easy Tayuya, you know you can't do that," Jirobo grumbled from above, his squinty eyes sweeping the surrounding area now, instead of resting on Naruto.

Holy crap! the boy couldn't help thinking. This chick was hardcore! His life didn't feel at risk with Tayuya so in his face, he just felt afraid for his limbs or place of occupancy after this conversation. There was no suffocating burden weighing down on every fiber of his being as there had been when he encountered the Uchihas. He was pretty sure it was safe to say Tayuya was just a very, _very _convincing cop and not some temptress of the night. Jirobo, Naruto still wasn't sure about. The man hadn't said much and had a very terrifying air about him. Was it terrifying enough to be vampiric?

"Time's up!" Tayuya suddenly barked, startling Naruto back to attention. "Uzumaki Naruto, you're under arrest for jeopardizing a murder investigation with a false statement."

"What! No way!" said freaked-out teenager protested as the red-haired woman jumped to her feet and unhooked her silver handcuffs from her belt loop.

"Tayuya," Jirobo warned, setting a stern gaze upon her that she did not turn to meet. "Don't be rash."

"He's pissing me off," she spat in irritation. "Do you know how severe your lying is?"

"I'm not lying!" Naruto tried to defend himself but, she really didn't allow him to speak.

She crouched down again, like red lightning, and slammed her hands on the bench seat on either side of Naruto. She pressed forward, tawny gaze boring into his in fury. Her breath was fiery hot in his face and smelled of that spice and cinnamon flavored gum. Over the course of a few seconds, the woman had gone from hungry tiger to fire-breathing dragon. What the hell was her problem?

"People like you make me want to go shoot something," she hissed and Naruto could almost imagine sparks flickering past her white teeth. "How do you sleep at night knowing that a killer is on the prowl and your lie is costing innocent people their lives? Does it even matter to you, really? Your whore's dead so everyone else can rot too? Is that how it is?"

Naruto couldn't believe it. Had she really just said that? He went cold inside and stared at her ferocious eyes in horror and disgust. How dare she? How dare she squat there and accuse him of hiding the murderer's identity for malicious reasons? How dare she speak so lowly about Sakura? Rage coiled in his stomach like molten lava. How could these strangers drag him out of class after the hell he'd been through and harass him like that? They _couldn't _be with the police.

"Take that back you bitch!" Naruto snapped, fisting the collar of her shirt in his hands.

Everything after that happened way to fast for Naruto's confused mind to keep up with. He was on the ground, laying face first in the grass and his left arm was twisted behind his back. Tayuya sat on top of him, one booted foot pressed to the back of his head.

"Now I can arrest you for assaulting a police detective," she laughed and he heard the jingling of the chain between the handcuffs. "You just made my day kid. Jirobo! Go warm up the car!"

"Yes Your Majesty," came the strained reply and Naruto heard his heavy footsteps fading away.

The blond was jerked back to his feet and his twisted arm screamed at the angle (it was the same arm Itachi had nearly crushed the day prior). Who were these people? Naruto kept asking himself as Tayuya started reading him his rights. Were they really cops? This woman sure was acting like one…until she burst into a fit of giggles behind him. At first, Naruto feared for his life. Was that the laughter of a woman turned mad or a bloodthirsty demon? When Tayuya's hold on him released and she collapsed on the picnic bench in hysterical laughter, Naruto was totally lost. He, unconsciously, rubbed his wrist where she had been clutching him and he stared at her as she cackled away. What. The. Hell?

"Wow!" Tayuya exclaimed in between laughs, one arm hugging her stomach and the other rubbing tears from the corners of her eyes. "They weren't kidding! You really _are _the overreacting paranoid idiot!"

Naruto wasn't sure if he was supposed to be offended or not. He was just drawing a humongous question mark in his head. Was this lady on something?

"What the hell are you talking about?" the blond finally asked, retreating one step away from her, just in case.

A few more seconds passed where Tayuya couldn't stop laughing and he just stared at her in disbelief. When she finally regained control of herself, Tayuya got back on her feet and shook her head, an amused smile still on her face.

"First, you think the leeches are running Huntress and then, you think I'm a cop not following protocol? You are the dumbest person I think I've ever run into!"

Huntress…She's mentioned Huntress. Did that mean it really wasn't the Uchihas typing to him? Or, was Tayuya in league with them?

"Explain yourself," Naruto demanded, grinding his teeth together in response to her previous insults.

Tayuya managed to halt her left over giggles permanently, although her teasing smile still remained in place and a sly glint was still in her eyes.

"My name is Tayuya. That much is true. I work as a homicide detective as a cover."

"Cover over what?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes and scrutinizing her in suspicion.

The red-head stooped forward and her face landed inches away from his…again. She made him so uncomfortable when she did that. The playfulness on her lips changed to that of pride and her next words she spoke with a deep respect that Naruto didn't understand the meaning of.

"I am a hunter. My loyalties lay with Huntress and Huntress only. Soon, you will be the same."

Naruto's heart thumped, excitedly, in his chest. She was with Huntress? But, she was human. Naruto was sure of it! Did that mean the people giving him advice really weren't vampires after all? There was really another human being that was on his side?

"Who is Huntress?" he burst and she stood up straight again, those blazing eyes narrowed with an emotion Naruto couldn't read.

He had to know. Was it true? Could he rely on Huntress? Was there really a safe haven for him on that site, where everything he said wouldn't be turned against him? Was the information he was receiving truly going to help him against the Uchiha monsters?

"You'll find out soon enough," Tayuya said as if she was reciting something from a manual.

He was getting sick and tired of that damn answer. He clamped his teeth shut to stop himself from saying so out loud. He'd already annoyed her enough, he was sure. No need to drive her away when he still had so many questions and needed so much help.

"Did…Huntress send you here?" he asked, carefully.

"Yes she did and with a message. Stand still."

Naruto blinked in confusion and got nervous when she stepped up to him again. He did as she said though and didn't move, much to his instincts disapproval. He was anticipating some deep, mysterious code or something so, imagine his displeasure when Tayuya reached over and hit him upside the head.

"Ow! What the hell?" he whined, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head.

"That's for being a brat and thinking Huntress was a leech!" Tayuya explained, eyes flashing. "She usually doesn't give you hormonal, know-it-all teenagers a second chance so feel honored."

"What's there to be honored about?" he mumbled, glaring at her in annoyance.

"Watch it Newbie," she retorted. "When you get home today there should be a gift waiting for you. Make sure to call the number left behind for instructions."

Her orders left Naruto dazed and his mind just went totally blank. She must have seen the vacant look in his eyes because she rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"There's nothing more I can tell ya, kid," she said, walking past him and waving her hand dismissively. "I'll be in touch. Don't do anything that'll make Huntress regret accepting you. Good job with leech-proofing your apartment, by the way."

Naruto's brain was jelly as he watched her leave. Jirobo was waiting across the front parking lot in a dark blue car. Naruto could see his fingers tapping the steering wheel, impatiently, through the windshield. His eyes were slitted and puzzled as he watched his partner approach. Tayuya flopped into the passenger seat and the man instantly asked her something, Naruto saw. The woman waved her hand as she answered, eyebrows slanting down as if she were angry about something. Naruto watched Jirobo shake his head and roll his eyes before driving the car away from the school. Naruto caught a knowing glance from Tayuya out the passenger window and then he was alone, his mind exploding with questions.

Tayuya had been at his apartment? She had left him something? What could it possibly be? A gift from Huntress, she said? Huntress was a woman? It was hard _not _to believe that with the name Huntr_ess _but, Naruto had been resistant to accepting the fact that he could be receiving advice from a woman. Tayuya had confirmed it though by referring to Huntress as a "she." Naruto didn't have a problem with women or anything but, for some reason, he was having a hard time imagining the snide chat posts coming from the hands of a female. What did she look like? he wondered. How old was she? What was her name?

"Oh boy," Naruto huffed, closing his eyes and tangling his hands in his hair.

This was a lot to process. The loud bell that dismissed class rang from inside. He dropped his hands to his sides and took a long, calming breath. He could trust Huntress. He could trust Tayuya. All he had to do was survive through the day and get home. He bent to retrieve his pack and left to return to the school building, all the while totally oblivious to the cold, ebony eyes observing him from the second story window.

* * *

Sasuke loved Itachi. He'd loved him for three centuries and planned on continuing to love him for the rest of eternity. But, sometimes, his brother was just so infuriating! He understood Itachi's concern about Naruto. Sasuke had been startled with the news from Itachi after school that afternoon. Sasuke was glad to have the knowledge that Naruto was associating with hunters before the boy learned anything. It was good to be a leap ahead of the enemy but, Sasuke positively _despised _how Itachi was stalking Naruto. His lover wasn't helping to make them seem more innocent. He also wasn't trying to hard to sympathize with the mortal. Even though he hadn't been like that for a long time, Sasuke understood emotions. He couldn't really relate to Naruto after the murder but, he could imagine how he felt. The kid was probably confused and scared, lonely and heartbroken. He wasn't thinking rationally and Sasuke didn't blame him for it.

The thoughtful Uchiha breathed in the crisp night air and cherished the peace it brought him for that split second. He had escaped his brother's ranting and worrying and had sought solitude in the clear night. Ever since Itachi had taken him to be with him forever, Sasuke had always welcomed the rise of the moon. There was no one on the streets of Konoha lately and he welcomed the silence. He wasn't concerned for his safety. He would have _loved _for the murderer to try and jump him. He wanted nothing more than to tear the bastard's throat out and end all the misery he was causing.

Sasuke's calm eyes remained forward as he drifted through the streets, veiled in shadows. His ears remained sharp, catching every sound within a ten mile radius. He couldn't stop himself from wondering about Itachi. It felt so alien to be away from him. At about this time, on any normal day, Sasuke would be home, tangled in his dear brother's arms and listening to his melodious voice in his ears. The Uchiha's marble lips slipped down into a frown as his head filled with all the arguments he'd had with Itachi the past week. It scared him, he realized. Every time they spoke against each other. Sasuke grew more and more afraid. Of what, he did not know. He didn't seek to think about it either. First thing was first: he had to deal with Naruto.

Sasuke halted on the sidewalk, blinking out of habit. He could smell him. Naruto had an unmistakable scent about him. It was that of sweat and ramen. It wasn't necessarily pleasant but, Sasuke didn't think any human smelled pleasant. What was he doing walking the streets that night? Did the boy have no sense? There was a monster on the loose – maybe two! Sasuke considered turning around and going back home as opposed to dealing with the nuisance but, he knew he wouldn't be able to exist with himself it Naruto got killed tonight when he could have prevented it. This wouldn't be a comfortable encounter.

Sasuke counted the shuffled steps as Naruto approached. The Uchiha did a quick double check of his surroundings and moved himself to what he thought was the least frightening position. He kept out of the shadows so as not to catch the boy by surprise and he made sure his teeth were flat. When Naruto rounded the corner up ahead and faced Sasuke, the Uchiha focused all of his acute senses. He scented the blond's fear as he stood, frozen to the sidewalk. He could feel the rising heat, pulsing off of him and heard his pounding heart in his head. There were about fifteen feet between them but, Sasuke had no trouble meeting the blue gaze. It was still as full of cold hate and flaming fury as it was the night of the murder.

"It's late," Sasuke said. "Silly teenagers shouldn't be out, especially not alone."

Sasuke knew by the look that flickered across Naruto's face that his velvet words had been taken as a threat. It had not been the Uchiha's intention but, he didn't plan on being entirely kind after the trouble the brat was putting him through. If anything, Sasuke was beginning to believe that he was _far _too soft on the kid. Itachi was right, especially if Naruto had contact with a hunter. He was going to become dangerous.

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked, the anxiety in his voice as clear as polished glass to Sasuke's ears.

"There could be many answers," he teased, although it didn't show on his white face. "Depends on where 'here' is."

Sasuke contained an amused chuckle at the sound of Naruto's teeth crunching together. Did he think his anger and devotion to revenge impressed him? Sasuke had admired him, briefly, for his courage in standing up to two individuals that were so far more superior than himself. However, the appeal was starting to wear off. Sasuke knew that they had barely hit a dent in the dilemma at hand and already, the blond's recklessness was growing tiresome.

"Out to hunt?" Naruto spat at the black-haired revenant and said individual wanted to punch the kind in the face for his arrogance.

"I am out for a walk and nothing more," Sasuke spoke honestly, turning his eyes up to the matching sky of inky dark. "As hard as it may be for your thick head to comprehend, most of us really aren't that complex. We enjoy the same, simple pleasantries you do."

Was that condescendence Naruto heard in his voice? The bastard knew he had the upper hand. Naruto's fists slowly clenched and unclenched and he tired to breathe evenly. His hateful stare remained on the casual, nonchalant monster up ahead and his fingers itched to reach his pocket…

"The holidays will be upon us soon, no?" Sasuke asked, his voice floating across the space between them like a phantom's whispers. "It's not exactly the nicest time for a serial killer to be stealing lives away. It'd be a shame if any more heartache came to this town."

Sasuke's eyes fell down to meet Naruto's again and this time, they were filled with authority and determination.

"You're not making things any easier."

Maybe it was instinct that allowed Naruto to sense when Sasuke was going to move. It felt as if all the breath in his body abandoned him in that lightning fast moment. Sasuke was directly in front of him, making the air frigid and almost unbearably freezing. Their eyes remained locked and Sasuke studied the bewilderment in the mortal's eyes as the nose of the gun pressed against where his heart was supposed to be. Naruto battled to hold the vampire's stare and not look down at Huntress's gift, gripped in his hand. He couldn't believe he had moved that fast. He couldn't believe that he was so close to slaying his first vampire. His amazement quickly passed and he glared, defiantly, into the Uchiha's blank gaze. He was not shocked, Naruto noticed. He didn't seem scared in the least bit.

"You got a gun," Sasuke stated, dark voice laced with disappointment.

Maybe it was the mockery Naruto thought he heard in his voice or maybe it was his fear that fueled his next motion. A red hot thrill jolted through him and the peaceful night exploded with the sharp, lingering sound of a gunshot.

* * *

_So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean / Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes / Give me reason to fill this hole, connect the space between / Let it be enough to reach the truth that lies across this new divide_


	13. CHAPTER 12 Shot in the Dark

**~Chapter XII~ **

_~Shot in the Dark~_

* * *

_I've been left out alone like a damn criminal / I've been praying for help cause I can't take it all / I'm not done / It's not over / Now I'm fighting this war since the day of the fall / And I'm desperately holding on to it all / But I'm lost / I'm so damn lost_

* * *

The night tore open with the shocking blast of a bullet leaving the nose of a gun. The sound rang in Naruto's ears long after the weapon stopped smoking. His hard, blue gaze trembled in amazement and fear. He was baffled that he had been able to draw out the gun so quickly and that it had so immediately found where Sasuke's heart was supposed to be. If he survived this encounter, maybe there would be hope of him being a worthy hunter later. Right now, his blood was running cold in horror. He really didn't know what he had expected when he pulled the trigger. It would have been too much to think that Sasuke would actually take the bullet and fall down forever.

"That would have hurt," that silky voice breathed in Naruto's chilled ear.

He wouldn't panic, the blond demanded of himself. He wouldn't mess up this time. As far as he could tell it was only Sasuke on the streets that night. He could take one Uchiha on, Naruto encouraged himself. The boy turned his eyes down to the white hand encircling his wrist that clutched the gleaming weapon. Sasuke had slipped past the bullet like it had been a snail and had positioned himself, safely, behind the gun's wielder. His blizzard-like breath on the back of his sweat-beaded neck sent goose-bumps jolting down his spine. Naruto convinced himself that his shivering was a result of the icy freeze and not fear. He hoped Sasuke knew he was not afraid.

"Where did you get your new toy?" came the velvet question, seasoned with curiosity and patience to hide the anger at the turn of events.

Naruto could not help but allow a pleased smile to cut across his lips. He may have been trapped in the claws of the beast but, he had caught said monster off guard and stolen the advantage from him, if only for an instant.

"I'm sure you would love to know so you can go gut them. Right?" he spat back at the Uchiha, noticing the way the hand around his wrist flexed as if Sasuke had flinched.

Naruto didn't try to turn around to face him. Even if Sasuke faltered, he could still easily break him. The boy held still in the demon's grip, opening up his senses and trying to focus enough so he could tell if there was other danger dwelling in the darkness. He remained conscious of the statuesque figure behind him and wondered, as the silence dragged on, what Sasuke was thinking about. From what Naruto could feel and sense, the Uchiha's stance and posture had not changed and the blond could not feel those deceitful eyes burning into his skull. What was he looking at? What was he planning to do? Would he slice him open like all the rest and leave him to bleed? Would he break his wrist and finish what Itachi had tried? Or would he just bite his neck and feed? For some reason, that possibility scared Naruto the most; even more than being the next murder victim. He didn't let it show though. He wouldn't give Sasuke that satisfaction.

"Do you always jump to conclusions?" Sasuke whispered and the sound was so unbearably human that it tugged at Naruto's vengeful heart.

It sounded so remorseful and so pitiful. Naruto quickly fought to shove any ounce of good intentions for the Uchihas out of his thoughts. It was just another trick, he reminded himself. Vampires were masters of trickery and deceit. They wore human faces and lived as if they were human. But, they were not. It was all just a rouse. It was just a way to fool everyone and entice them in.

"You're a crappy murderer if you couldn't escape the scene of the crime without being seen," Naruto taunted, glancing down at the silver object in his hand and trying to figure out how he could direct it back towards Sasuke without losing his hand.

"Isn't that proof enough of my innocence?" Sasuke responded, quickly. "If I'm as fast as you now know I am, why in hell do you think I'd let someone as insignificant as yourself catch me in the act?"

Naruto lost his breath when Sasuke turned him around to face him. The quick rush was like the feeling of going down a steep roller coaster. The world around him blended into unidentifiable blurs and then, his vision was filled with Sasuke's burning eyes. Instinctively, Naruto tried to lift his arm to shoot the gun but, the Uchiha's hand was still molded around his wrist. He didn't know how the bastard did it but, he wouldn't allow himself to feel helpless. As trapped as he was, he knew Sasuke's weakness. He had it in his hand. He finally held the advantage, even if only slightly. As long as he had that shred of hope, he could look into those demonic eyes without flinching.

"You have no answer for me," Sasuke concluded as Naruto's eyes glared back at him in defiance.

"I won't allow you to twist my words around for your own gain," the boy hissed through his teeth.

His words made Sasuke's eyes harden even more but, Naruto wasn't to sure what that feeling was, triggering the hardness. It didn't really matter, Naruto figured. The Uchihas were both menaces and no matter how innocent they claimed to be, he would not be swayed from his path to revenge. They would not fool him.

"You are the most stubborn and ignorant person I think I've ever had the displeasure of crossing paths with," Sasuke seethed, his glare filled with a hate Naruto had not yet been witness to. "Do you have a drop of intelligence in that thick skull? You don't know the first thing about solving a mystery do you? Anyone else in this town could tell it wasn't me who killed those people."

As he spoke, the pressure on Naruto's wrist gradually increased with Sasuke's anger. The blond honestly didn't take much notice however. He was far to focused on those monstrous eyes, boring deep into his soul. He did not falter in his steadfastness though. He would hold out against the bastard. He'd done it once before.

"Everyone else in this town is too blinded by your smiles and charms to see the danger you pose and the lies you've told," Naruto replied, spitting out the words like they were shards of ice. "If you think you can get away with these murders because you're so much stronger than the rest of us – "

"What a stereotypical idiot you are!" Sasuke barked, the quiet venom in his voice exploding into furious lava. "You think that since we need blood to survive, we're all ruthless monsters!"

Naruto couldn't restrain the pained outburst that fell past his lips as Sasuke's hand started to weigh down and crush his. Those black eyes flickered with another thing Naruto couldn't identify and then, the pressure lessened slightly. Sasuke's pale face drew closer to Naruto's, to the point where all of his facial features felt frostbitten. Those ebony eyes drowned out the rest of his surroundings and the whispered words that followed felt deafening.

"I should snap your neck and kill the risk you put me in but, then I'd be no better than the scum you refuse to seek out and destroy."

There was another rush of charging, frozen air and a swipe of black swam in Naruto's vision before he was left alone in the nipping, autumn night. He stood, glued to the ground, staring at the vacant street before him. He listened to nothing. Sasuke was gone. He was safe for the moment. As the realization passed through his mind, Naruto let his breath come tumbling out of his mouth. Had he been holding it all along? Had that meeting really happened? Glancing down at his hand, wound around the gun, it connected with him that he was in no nightmare. He gulped down the adrenaline that had been pumping through his body and drew up his eyes to search the sidewalk.

_Don't lose any bullets. If it's not in a leech, don't leave it behind._

The directions given to him over the phone had said just that. He could understand why he had to retrieve stray bullets. They were made of silver and it would be a shame to waste any on air. Naruto turned back to where he had been facing when he took the shot. The moonlight reflected off of something small and round on the pavement a few feet away. Keeping a wary eye and ear open, Naruto went to pick it up. The silver bullet felt heavy as it came to rest in his palm. Not a dent or scratch scarred its slick surface. He was surprised that it was so after the small projectile had impacted the hard ground. They were designed to pierce marble skin, Naruto chided himself. Of course they could withstand against concrete.

The boy pocketed the first shot bullet and gun in his black coat, glancing around the area for any form of witnesses. No one had heard the gunshot. Again, Naruto was surprised. It was a secluded part of town, he supposed. It was no wonder no one was charging out to see the altercation, he guessed. As he stood there, in the same spot he'd stood in with a gun to Sasuke's chest, a sense of satisfaction washed through him and he found a proud smile tugging his lips. He _could not wait _to thank Huntress for the gift.

* * *

Sasuke thundered into the mansion after his meeting with Naruto, his eyes blazing a furious vermillion. He slammed the large, mahogany front door behind him, seemingly making the entire house rattle with the impact. The first thing he saw past the red veil over his eyes was the stairwell. With a loud, animalistic snarl, Sasuke raced to the polished wood and dug his hand through it. There was a snap, crunch, and crack as it splintered and sprayed to the floor below. Next, Sasuke tore up one of the stair legs, leaving a jagged hole behind. He whirled around and pelted the object at the closed front door. Upon colliding with the dark wood, the spear-like projectile shattered and rained splinters down on the gleaming floor. The curtains on the nearest window looked appetizing to Sasuke's fury also but, Itachi's quiet voice behind him made him stop.

"Sasuke," was all his brother said, his voice barely audible over the throbbing anger pounding in Sasuke's skull.

The furious Uchiha whirled around like a black tornado to face Itachi. When his red gaze connected with those calm, understanding pools, the fire in his cold-hot blood numbed slightly. The two dark brothers stood staring at each other in frigid silence. Ever so slowly, the scarlet in Sasuke's eyes and mind started to fade and he became conscious of the damage he had caused to the stairwell. The concern in Itachi's gaze spoke mountains to him as he maintained the stare. He had never gone crazy like that. Neither of them had. The shock of his out of control mindset finally caught up with Sasuke as his eyes faded completely to black.

His icy frame shivered like the tiny ripples on a lake surface after a spring breeze passed through. The vague movement remained constant as the Uchiha's eyes fell down to the wood chips littering the floor. What if he hadn't been home when his rage consumed him? he thought repeatedly. What if he had not left Naruto when he did? The sawdust that sprinkled his shoes could easily be splashed blood. That was why they couldn't lose control. They had to keep themselves in check, lest they end up like the monster tearing through Konoha's innocent citizens. What if he had stumbled across someone when he had been charging home? Sasuke asked himself again. Would he have been able to stop himself from doing something terrible?

The feel of Itachi's marble hand in his, ripped Sasuke out of his imagined pasts. The slight trembling continued, even as the raven-haired revenant returned his gaze to his companion's. The patient depths did wonders for Sasuke's outrage but, nothing for his distress at himself.

"I…" the emotional Uchiha choked, casting his gaze down from Itachi's a little bit as he tired to make his mouth work past the ebbing rage.

"Easy," Itachi soothed, his long fingers tracing the lines on his lover's palm, although his eyes remained upon his white face.

Sasuke shut his eyes for a moment, trying to halt all the tiny movements stirring his cold body. A few long moments passed without words, breath, or mobility. Sasuke's trembling died away at an agonizingly slow pace as he drove the thoughts of blood and gore out of his head. He listened to the hidden groans of the old house as the November wind, high in the atmosphere, buffeted the walls. He listened to the chattering of the millions of insects, crawling in all the tiny crevices of the tall building. The small, natural sounds comforted him in addition to his brother's hand, softly stroking his own. When Sasuke had settled his hellish thoughts, his pale eyelids slid open and he looked back at Itachi with clear, onyx eyes.

"I'm sorry," he said, his words coming out in a whisper.

"What are you sorry for?" he asked, just to allow him an opening for a conversation if he sought to vent.

"The staircase," Sasuke murmured, his eyes slowly sweeping over the mess of wood and splinters he had made. "I'm sorry for not listening to you. I'm sorry for wanting to come back here in the first place."

"You shouldn't be sorry for that," Itachi crooned, reaching his other hand up to dance along Sasuke's jaw-line. I'm sorry that everything isn't going the way you want it to."

"It's not your fault," Sasuke sighed, on impulse. "I should have listened to you all along. If we had stayed where we were, no one would be dead."

"You don't know that," the chocolate-haired brother insisted, tentatively, his thumb absently running beneath Sasuke's lower lip.

"You're still clinging to the hope that this is all a coincidence," the slightly younger sibling managed to chuckle.

Personally, he thought such a notion was foolish. The both of them had seen and studied far too much to believe in coincidence anymore. He appreciated how positive Itachi was trying to be about the whole ordeal but, thinking these murders were randomly committed was ridiculous.

"We need some sort of light to hold onto in these black times," Itachi explained to him, softly. "It may be a hopeless theory but, it's brighter than every other possibility we've drawn up. Besides, I don't want to plague you with such hateful thoughts. Why don't you tell me what got you so upset?"

"I just made another mistake, is all," Sasuke sighed as they melted up to the second floor to sink into the mattress of their shared bed.

"_Another _mistake?" Itachi repeated, a teasing smirk still molded to his face in an attempt to get his brother to smile again. "You haven't made any yet."

"Deciding to come back here was a mistake," Sasuke argued, preparing to list all the mistakes he thought he had made.

Itachi's hand, sliding through his sleek hair made him stop. He gazed at the carefree and childish smile Itachi gave him as his fingers played in his hair. Sasuke envied his calm. When did Itachi become the sensible brother? Usually, it was Sasuke's job to keep _him _in check. Sasuke stared at his companion, enjoying the feel of his hand in his hair, until he realized Itachi was waiting for him to speak.

"I ran into Naruto tonight," Sasuke murmured, for some reason feeling shameful, like seeing Naruto was some sort of sin.

"I know," Itachi revealed, his black eyes veiling in worry and a hint of guilt. "I heard a gunshot."

"You were listening?" Sasuke asked, not sure how he felt about Itachi spying on him.

"Not the entire time," Itachi defended. "I was listening for suspicious activity when I heard the shot. I won't lie and say I wasn't scared."

Both of Itachi's hands came up to cup his dear brother's face and his intense gaze looked deep into Sasuke's own eyes. The younger individual blinked once at the overwhelming feelings that flooded over him.

"I told you Naruto was in the hunter's clutches. I thought the bullet hit you. I thought he got a lucky shot."

Sasuke's heart twisted at the agony in Itachi's face. He didn't see him like this. He'd barely seen such fear in his stoic brother's face. He was almost certain the only other instance he'd seen Itachi so scared was when their skin was still warm.

"I'm fine," he managed to say past the swarming guilt in his head at causing that discomfort. "I'm sorry."

"You keep apologizing," Itachi laughed, his thumbs trailing circles on Sasuke's white cheeks. "You've done nothing wrong."

"I feel like I have," Sasuke croaked. "I feel like everything that's happened is my fault."

His voice shook and he barely recognized the sound. Itachi wasn't the only one who was scared. Sasuke didn't know what Naruto had invoked in him that night but, whatever it was, it terrified the Uchiha. For the first time in so very long, he was afraid of himself. He was afraid of what exactly he was. He didn't think about it a lot. His never ending existence was comfortable and natural for him. He had accepted the conditions of immortality when he made the decision to join Itachi n this world. It was only now, after tearing apart the stairway's railing and running such murderous thoughts through his head that the full severity of his identity weighed on him.

"Sasuke?"

Itachi nudged the younger Uchiha's face up to look back into his eyes. Sasuke had barely realized that he had looked away from Itachi. There must have been something remorseful on his deathly pale face that prompted Itachi's desperation to comfort him. The elder of the two slid his thoughtful lover into his arms and hugged him close.

"Sasuke, don't place all the blame on your own shoulders," Itachi murmured into his dark tresses. "I've told you before that we are not gods. We cannot prevent all the awful things that happen in the world. What's happening here is out of our control."

Oh, how naïve his brother was sounding, Sasuke thought. It was so clear that the recent murders had everything to do with their presence in Konoha. Lately, there had been no doubt in the Uchiha's mind that if they abandoned the town, no one else would be killed. The insanity would stop. There would be no increase in heartache and trigger happy teenagers out for revenge.

Sasuke did not voice his thoughts instead, snuggling closer to the comforting cold his brother had to offer. He appreciated how hard he was trying to sympathize. He adored how Itachi always sought to reassure him before himself. He was so thoughtful and selfless. Sasuke didn't mind reveling in the fact that such a person was his alone to love.

"Maybe we should go back," Sasuke sighed into the dark fabric of his companion's shirt, closing his eyes and cherishing the bliss the moment was bringing him after his rampage. "Maybe we should just get out of town and let things settle down."

"Wouldn't that make us look suspicious?" Itachi teased.

Sasuke felt the playful smile as it stirred his hair and one of his own soon followed. When did a moment such as this become so rare? Sasuke wondered as he inhaled the frostbitten air. For centuries, the two of them had spent every day tangled in each other's arms. There was never a second that they didn't spend together. Recently, since they had returned to Konoha, Sasuke felt that he and Itachi were growing distant. Their possible connection to the murders and their presence at Sakura's death was wedging its way between them. Their divided feelings about Naruto also didn't help them very much.

"We wouldn't be the only ones leaving," Sasuke responded to his brother's comment. "These killing are scaring everyone out of town. We may be labeled cowards but, I don't think anyone will stop or blame us."

"If that is what you want then, I'll start packing," Itachi said, shifting so his lips pressed against his lover's forehead.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Well cancel that plan! You two aren't going anywhere."

Both Uchihas were on their feet and braced for battle at the demanding voice. They hadn't known they were there! Damn, they were _really _good! Sasuke relaxed when he found Tsunade and her assistant standing by the bedroom door. Her flashing, copper gaze didn't intimidate him but, Itachi remained tense beside him. He didn't take being caught off guard well. He always had to be prepared and know his surroundings before anyone else.

"Countess," Sasuke greeted the thunderous blonde. "You surprised us. I was told you would be meeting with us but, I had expected more warning."

Tsunade snapped a molten glare at him that brought him much discomfort. He usually got along so well with the Countess. What had caused her so much fury? Was it the fact that they had been planning on leaving? That couldn't be the only thing.

"Uzumaki Naruto has a slayer!" she exploded, although the room remained unstirred.

Her voice echoed through the mansion but, the Uchihas did not respond. Sasuke stood up straight beside his very still brother. The younger of the two remained focused on their visitors and didn't glance at Itachi. Their moment in blissful solitude had passed. There was business to see to now.

"How long have you known?" Sasuke asked her, icily, still sore about how the Council did nothing to eliminate the threat Naruto posed.

"Ten minutes!" she barked back. "Someone was supposed to be watching him!"

"Someone's not to good at their job now are they?" Itachi hissed beside Sasuke, both pairs of onyx eyes trained on their visitors "The Council should have terminated the boy the second he found out the truth."

"No harm will come to Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade hissed, glaring an inferno at the elder Uchiha.

"Why is that?" Sasuke broke in, smoothly, drawing her gaze back to him. "There is clearly something you're hiding from us about him. If it was anyone else, I'm sure we wouldn't be having this problem right now. What makes Naruto so special?"

The room froze as Sasuke's and Tsunade's eyes remained connected in a challenge; black ice pitted against volcanic amber. Even with all her experience in her many, many years, there was one thing the Countess had never mastered: her poker face. Although she only allowed him to see it for barely a second, Sasuke watched a tangle of emotions swipe over her porcelain face. There was desire, regret, anger, irritation, pain, suspicion, distrust, and many more feelings that knotted her expression before she covered it with an indifferent mask. A message remained in her copper gaze, however, that Sasuke read loud and clear: she wanted to tell him whatever secret she was keeping. She knew her devotion to keep said information hidden was endangering them all and it was ripping her to shreds inside.

"Enough have been broken by the mayhem around town," she said, breaking the lock with Sasuke's arctic eyes.

He had seen enough from her marble face. Itachi was right. The Council was hiding something pivotal about Naruto from the Uchihas. If Tsunade couldn't tell them, then Sasuke would just have to find out on his own.

"Is there a reason you stopped by?" Itachi asked, the tone in his voice implying that he was less than satisfied with the Countess's decision to keep secrets from them.

"We have much to discuss," she growled to the arrogant Uchiha, her rage flaring up to challenge him. "For example, you don't seem shocked that Naruto is in possession of a slayer."

"I saw him speaking with a hunter yesterday morning," Itachi reported, coolly. "It doesn't surprise me that he was sent a slayer. I hadn't expected to hear gunfire so soon though."

Itachi's hand fluttered down Sasuke's arm, subconsciously and possessively. A wave of concern emanated off of him but, Sasuke did not respond, instead remaining intent on the two females. He had not forgotten about Shizune, although her silence was making it difficult to remember she was there. She blended into the shadows of the room flawlessly and the stillness made her undetectable by Sasuke's ears. She truly deserved to be named the Countess's apprentice.

"Why was a trigger pulled in the first place?" Tsunade questioned them, her voice clipped and restrained as she reined in her fury.

"It was my fault," Sasuke automatically answered. "I met him, unexpectedly, on the streets and he was frightened. It wasn't my intention for him to feel threatened."

"He overreacts," the Countess murmured to herself, and Sasuke couldn't tell if she had intended for the words to be spoken out loud.

Her expression and stance didn't falter and her red lips barely moved with the words. Sasuke didn't ad onto her words or acknowledged them, instead moving the meeting along.

"Now that he is truly becoming a danger to us, what does the Council plan to do?"

A brief silence veiled the room as Tsunade contemplated an answer to his question. The fact that she had to think about it filled Sasuke with disgust. He sensed a similar feeling coming from his brother. She would really protect Naruto over one of her own? What the hell was this boy's connection with the Council? Why did deciding his fate have to be so complicated? Sasuke _could not _wait to investigate and find the answer.

"I will discuss the problem Naruto presents with Zabuza and Jiraiya. We will let you know when we've come to a fair conclusion," she answered, mechanically.

Both brothers masterfully covered their distaste at her reply. That wasn't what either of them had wanted to hear. She was supposed to be on their side, wasn't she? She thought they were innocent. Couldn't she be a little more helpful? Sasuke tried to be more sympathetic but, after tonight's close call, he didn't think any of them could afford to have Naruto go without punishment.

_Be patient_, he reminded himself. _If the Council won't help you, you'll just have to take matters into your own hands._

"I apologize on Naruto's behalf," Tsunade said, unexpectedly. "Things should never have come this far."

Neither Uchiha responded nor did they doubt she had expected them to. Sasuke appreciated her regret, though. Maybe it was cruel of him to think so but, at lest she knew what was happening was wrong. It was enlightening to know that one of the Council members was sane and rational.

"Are there any leads whatsoever towards the true killer?" Itachi asked to direct the conversation away from the topic of Naruto.

"None," Tsunade sighed. "We've been investigating Abumi Zaku's disappearance, hoping it would lead to the original killer but, no such luck. Whoever is doing this has flawlessly covered his tracks. He has left no evidence whatsoever for us to follow. If I wasn't so revolted I would be impressed."

Sasuke couldn't help but notice how much easier the Countess's words came as they switched topics. How was discussing the murders more comfortable than talking about Naruto? Sasuke wondered. He stored the question away in his head to ponder later. Right now, they were talking about Zaku. The boy had been a concern of Sasuke's since he'd gone missing.

"You think the real killer turned him, correct?" Sasuke asked of them.

"Yes," the blonde answered.

"Do we know why?" Itachi contributed.

"It could be just to prove he can," Tsunade explained. "There's no telling what this guys' mental status is like. We can't tell if there's a reason behind the killings. Nothing makes sense."  
"However," Shizune piped from beside the Countess, speaking for the first time since the meeting had begun. "We do have some information from the Double Murders last week. It may not be much but, we're hoping it'll help us track down Zak at least."

Shizune produced from within her jacket the photos taken at the two crime scenes. She cleared the space between herself and the Uchihas in two lithe and agile steps, distributing the pictures in their waiting hands.

"We were unable to tell which of the victims was killed by Mr. Abumi and which was killed by the original. The woman was displayed sloppily. The original killer puts his victims out so the cuts are clear for all to see."

She pointed at the photo of the church murder where Shigure's body was on full display. Before she explained further, Sasuke spotted the differences in the two killings. Hisame was tangled in rose bushes, the signature in the two killings. Hisame was tangled in rose bushes, the signature three cuts being less visible amidst the extra gore and awkward position. The original murders were more simple and clean. The cuts were smooth and precise on Shigure's body, unlike the cuts on Hisame that Sasuke could see. Hers were jagged and unsteady and her body was littered in extra wounds. The first killer only left behind his clean cuts, Sasuke gathered. That was all he wanted to get across. There were no excess wounds that made the eye stray like on Hisame. It was clear not to Sasuke that Tenten, Sakura, and Shigure were slaughtered by an expert with decades of experience. Hisame was killed by someone new to the blood life and had tested his fresh powers on her in addition to leaving behind the real killer's signature.

"How do you think this will help the investigation?" Sasuke sighed over Shizune's explanation, his thoughts swimming with all the faces connected in this massacre.

"If Zaku left behind a mess like that, then maybe he slipped up and left a clue," Tsunade spoke up from beside the bedroom door.

"I'm taking two other investigators out to the Gardens tomorrow to scour the place for any hints that the police department overlooked," Shizune added, taking back the photos. "You two are welcome to join me."

The brunette smiled at the Uchihas, kindly, and it was a genuine smile, too. Sasuke had always liked Shizune. She was always positive and sweet, no matter how macabre the situation was. No matter how cold her skin was, Sasuke always found some sort of warmth in her gaze.

"If we didn't have to keep up appearances, I would gladly join you," Sasuke replied, honestly.

"Ah. That's right," Shizune laughed as she turned to leave with her superior. "I forgot you're students. Good luck tomorrow!"

Shizune vanished out the door, her sweet laughter lightly lingering in Sasuke's ears. Tsunade remained where she was for a moment longer and she shared another stare with Sasuke that spoke a thousand apologies and a longing to reveal all her secrets. He silently implored her to do so and then, she was gone.

* * *

_Cause your soul is on fire / A shot in the dark / What did they aim for when they missed your heart / I breathe underwater / It's all in my hands / What can I do / Don't let it fall apart / A shot in the dark_


	14. CHAPTER 13 I Will Not Bow

**~Chapter XIII~**

_~I Will Not Bow~_

* * *

_Now the dark begins to rise / Take a breath it's far from over / Leave the lost and dead behind / Now's your chance to run for cover / I don't want to change the world / I just want to leave it colder_

* * *

How fitting, Naruto thought as he walked into school the morning following his encounter with Sasuke. Today was Friday the 13th and what was usually a fun, teasing atmosphere was now filled with dread. He constantly heard whispers suspecting another murder drifting around. Yet again, Naruto was reminded of how the recent events had impacted his home. His rambunctious peers hardly laughed anymore. The social groups that had road-blocked the hallways were always shifting and always watching. Their was barely any socializing and much more looking out for each other.

Another thing Naruto noticed – especially today – was that a lot more people were donning some form of a cross. Whether it was a necklace, an earring, or a belt chain, everyone wanted to ward off the evil that had penetrated through Konoha's peace. As Naruto moved with the swift flowing traffic and caught the gleaming metal on his peers, he wondered how the Uchihas were faring. Were they affected by the holy symbol? Were they even in attendance on this unlucky day?

Naruto's first few classes went by in a blur. All he could think about was the previous night and the meeting he was scheduled to attend after school today. He didn't have the gun with him during school hours. He didn't want to deal with the fallout if he slipped up and someone discovered he was in possession of a weapon like that. He always thought about it as the school day dragged on. He thought about how he first held it after his conversation with Tayuya yesterday. Upon entering his apartment, he had discovered a black box on his bed and a note resting atop it.

"Don't be stupid. Use it well. Love, H," had been what the note read. A phone number had followed. He had gazed in awe at the gun upon opening the box. It was simple, sleek, and fully loaded. The only mark that scarred the smooth surface was an engraved S on the right side of the short barrel. After admiring Huntress's gift, the boy had called the number provided. The person had picked up after the first ring and had known exactly who Naruto was.

"Hello Naruto," the male voice had said. "I assume you've received Huntress's gift then."

"Y-Yes," Naruto had replied, always uncomfortable when these strangers knew his name.

"It's called a slayer," the man explained. "That's what the S on the side stands for. The best way to slay a leech is with a silver bullet. The myths about it working on werewolves are bull. The leeches made that up to protect themselves. You know how to fire a gun, right?"

"Of course."

"Yeah, sure. Like I haven't heard that before," the man sighed. "From what I know, you still have a lot to learn about hunting, kid."

The man had given him an address and told Naruto to meet him there tomorrow afternoon. He gave him a few instructions about the slayer, including the one about stray bullets, and then had hung up. It was then that Naruto had taken it upon himself to take the gun for a test run. After firing at Sasuke and walking away with his life, Naruto had immediately gotten on his laptop to type to Huntress when he got home. Her response to him going out on his own was less than pleased. Regardless, Naruto had felt accomplished and could not wait to meet this new hunter today.

"Naruto, are you okay?"

The blond blinked back into awareness. He had zoned out, thinking about everything that had happened. He was in lunch already? Hinata had been the one to speak to him. She was beside him and her pale complexion was contorted in concern. Kiba beside her was conversing with Shikamaru across the table. Choji munched on his snacks next to his friend and across from Naruto, Lee was adjusting his wreath of good luck charms he'd armed himself with for the day – he was the most superstitious of all of them.

"Naruto?" Hinata repeated, worry coating her voice.

"I'm fine," he answered this time. "I just spaced out for a second there. You worry too much Hinata."

He gave her his standard, goofy smile to reassure her but, her expression remained unconvinced. To direct the attention away from himself, he glanced at the silver object around her neck. He could see it in her silver eyes that she knew he was trying to change the subject. She didn't object though, her dainty fingers tracing the shape of the cross as she continued to look at him.

"I got it after you were hospitalized," she answered, evenly.

_After Sakura died._

The unspoken words rang out loud and clear in Naruto's ears but, his false smile did not falter. He could see mistrust in his friend's gaze and it tugged at his heart. He couldn't fool himself into thinking the wariness about her wasn't aimed towards him. Ever since he'd been released from the hospital, he noticed that Hinata always looked at him like he was dangerous. Again, he was made to doubt the path h e was taking. He drew his blue gaze away from her and found it drawn to where Sakura used to sit. The table had been empty since her death but, recently, Naruto had found her best friend sitting there, eating alone.

He analyzed the broken and lost form of the blond girl aimlessly for a long time until his sight was abruptly blocked by a rustle of black and then, the face of the murderer himself. The temperature around the boy dropped instantly as Uchiha Sasuke seated himself across the cafeteria table from Naruto. The split second that their gazes were connected felt like days. The carefree, almost innocence that had filled those black orbs in past meetings was replaced with a freezing hate and a lust for vengeance. The cold, calculating air that surrounded Sasuke now made Naruto wish he hadn't left his gun locked away at home. What was the leech planning to do?

"Ack! Holy crap, Sasuke! You scared me!" Lee exclaimed, jumping in his seat when he found the Uchiha beside him.

"Terribly sorry," Sasuke apologized.

The last thing Naruto saw in those deceptive eyes was mischief and spite before Sasuke turned to work his charms over his friends. Why was he here? Naruto asked himself, his heart hammering against his chest in revulsion. Was this payback for shooting at him last night? Was he meant to sit by and watch this monster steal his friends away with his slick words and clever smile? Naruto dared to tear his eyes away from the demon to look at his friends. All eyes were on Sasuke. Choji had stopped munching and his gaze was as bright and thrilled as Lee's smile at Sasuke's return. A shy smile was on Hinata's face as she turned her attention away from Naruto and onto Sasuke. Kiba was smiling as well but, it was a little uneasy. Shikamaru regarded the Uchiha with a long, suspicious glance.

Naruto took a silent, subtle breath and quickly flipped through his options as his eyes returned to the threat before him. He couldn't act hostile towards him; otherwise his friend would ask questions he couldn't answer. He couldn't just sit there and be silent while the bastard exacted whatever vengeance he had planned for him. He wouldn't give Sasuke the pleasure of seeing him so helpless. He would just fake the friend then, Naruto concluded. That was all he could do.

"Sasuke, where have you been?" Lee began interrogating him, rather frantically.

"I apologize for my absence," Sasuke replied, smoothly, as he focused those hypnotic eyes on the gullible teenager. "I have missed joining all of you for lunch. I hope you can forgive me."

"That depends," Kiba spoke up, switching the Uchiha's attention to him.

Naruto's heart flip-flopped when – already! – he saw tears of forgiveness bubbling up in Lee. How fast could Sasuke win the others over? Naruto knew Lee caved easy, especially with someone he really liked but, still…Naruto had barely blinked before Sasuke had focused on his next prey.

"What have you been up to?" Kiba continued, his voice guarded as he talked with the flawless Uchiha.

"I've been across the room, talking with Dosu and Kin," Sasuke answered, without regret or joy, very humanly jerking his raven head to where the aforementioned friends sat.

Naruto couldn't help but look over at the enemy table. His gaze hardened as he found Dosu staring over at them – more specifically, at Sasuke. Kin had her back to Naruto but, she was leaning over the table and whispering to the mysterious student. Were they vampires? Naruto wondered. Why else would Sasuke care to speak with them, especially after learning of their rivalry with Naruto and his friends? Speaking of, Naruto quickly brought his attention back to the Uchiha and the effect he was having on his friends.

"Why are you talking to them?" Kiba asked of him, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"It's kind of embarrassing, actually," Sasuke laughed, scratching the back of his head, sheepishly.

Naruto blinked once at the action. How could he act so human? How could he be so _fake _and not feel a drop of guilt at how he was deceiving such innocent people? Naruto just _could not _stomach such a perfect façade. Watching the leech dare to trick his friends into thinking he was someone to trust, just made Naruto want to destroy him so much more.

"Please," Shikamaru said from beside Lee, his voice very clearly displaying his distrust of Sasuke since he'd abandoned the group. "Enlighten us."

Sasuke was not fazed in the least bit by Shikamaru's harshness. In fact, he hadn't even seemed to notice it. Naruto noticed that Choji had turned to his best friend in shock. The chubby boy didn't talk a lot but, all his feelings were revealed on his face. Ever since Sasuke had stood up for them on that first day, it was clear that Choji idolized him. Hurt welled up inside of Naruto as he gazed over at his innocent friend. Would he really defend Sasuke – a guy he'd barely known for weeks – over his best friends, whom he'd known for years? He was tearing them apart, Naruto realized as he glared back at the Uchiha. Was that his intention? Was that how he would get back at Naruto?

"Dosu's tutoring me in math, actually," Sasuke laughed again, the velvet sound effortlessly melting past his lips.

"That's a load of crap," Shikamaru spat and even Naruto had to admit he was surprised.

The brunette wasn't usually cruel unless someone had wronged him. Naruto was all for having a friend hate Sasuke but, he did wonder where Shikamaru's sudden dislike came from. Naruto thought that since Sasuke had defended them, his lazy comrade would be just as starry-eyed as Choji. Was it because it seemed Sasuke had befriended the enemy soon afterwards that sparked Shikamaru's hostility?

Naruto noticed that everyone had turned to Shikamaru, aghast, at his comment. Even Kiba looked offended. Oh no, had Sasuke really won him over with those few words? The blond noticed an excited spark in the onyx gaze of the monster as he fixed his sights on Shikamaru. He was enjoying the skepticism! It was all just a game to him and Shikamaru was just another obstacle standing between him and the prize. It was terrifying to realize this as Naruto sat by, silently, and observed.

"How so?" Sasuke asked of the brunette, raising an elegant brow in false curiosity as he met the challenge the boy posed.

"Do you really expect me to believe that a bum like Dosu is tutoring someone like you?" Shikamaru hissed, glaring around Lee at the relaxed Uchiha.

"Someone like me?" Sasuke repeated, something Naruto knew wasn't common practice for the leech.

"You're perfect Sasuke," Naruto's friend snorted. "You're in all advanced c lasses and you have everyone in the school tripping over themselves to do whatever you want. There's no way _you're _taking lessons from _Dosu_. The guy's too much of an ass to help anyone. Quit lying and tell me the real reason you're sneaking behind our backs to see them."

"Shikamaru!" Hinata interjected horror in her voice at his cruelty.

Naruto didn't turn to see the expression on her face though. Instead, he watched a pang of hurt flash across Sasuke's frozen features, as if he truly cared about what Shikamaru thought of him.

"You're just like the rest of them, aren't you Sasuke?" Shikamaru pressed on through the Uchiha's silence, despite Hinata's objection. "You come in and make us nobodies feel like we're worth the time and then you spin around and laugh at how pathetic we are."

He could see on all of their faces that Shikamaru's words had been a slap in the face to all of Naruto's friends, including himself. That wasn't Sasuke talking, nor was he influencing Shikamaru to say it. Naruto was well aware of his group's social status as he knew the rest of them were but, it had never bothered any of them. To hear one of their own insult all of them like that was a huge punch in the face. What had stirred such aggression in Shikamaru? This behavior was very out of character for him. Naruto could see confusion in Sasuke's unwavering stare as he struggled to decipher the boy's sudden personality shift.

"Shikamaru…" Choji peeped, giving his close friend a pained stare.

No one got the chance to add anything further as Shikamaru jolted up from his seat in his fit of anger and marched away from the table. The remaining were left in shocked silence. Lee fingered a four-leaf clover on his scarf of lucky charms, as if the objects had failed him in their purpose for the day.

"I'm sorry," came Sasuke's silken voice, drawing four, broken pairs of eyes upon him.

Naruto quickly discarded his questions about Shikamaru, and his hatred for the Uchiha demon quickly rejuvenated. Sasuke's guilty face didn't fool Naruto. His blue eyes remained hard and frigid as he took in Sasuke's contemplative position. The Uchiha's dark gaze was on his white hands, folded neatly on the table before him. His delicate brows were knit together as he thought about the events that had just transpired.

"I didn't realize how upsetting my interactions with Dosu and Kin were. Perhaps I shouldn't have come back to join you. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you all," Sasuke said, choosing his words ever so meticulously.

"It's not your fault," Hinata automatically argued with a determined fervor Naruto hadn't known she was capable of. "You're our friend but, that shouldn't restrain you from getting to know other people. Just because we don't get along with them, doesn't mean you can't. Shikamaru's overreacting."

Every pore in Naruto's body was screaming to stop Hinata's words. He couldn't allow Sasuke such easy access to his friends like this! How did he stop him? Naruto had to grind his teeth together and clench his fists to stop himself from blurting out the foul words he held in regards to that son of a bitch. He was able to cause a scene and ruin everything. He could hear Tayuya's raspy voice in his head, barking the words, "Shut up and don't be stupid!" He was meeting another hunter today. He could get advice then. He just had to hold out until then and pray his friends would be safe until he could truly protect them.

"Sasuke…" Kiba hesitated beside Hinata. "Why _are _you hanging out with those guys?"

"It's like I said," he responded, raising his eyes and putting on a sad smile that shattered any doubt left at the table. "Dosu's tutoring me. You wouldn't guess that he was good at math. Shikamaru's right though. Dosu hates my guts but, he's the best my teachers could set me up with."

Naruto's gaze flickered to Dosu and by his tensed shoulders and seething glare towards Sasuke, the blond knew he could hear them. Naruto looked back at the Uchiha and found his pitiful smile turned further up in a cocky smirk, like he knew Dosu was listening. The boy's gut twisted, convulsively, as he came to the conclusion that the older student was in fact a vampire. It didn't surprise Naruto that much, actually. The guy was creepy enough to be a leech. He'd done a damn good job of hiding it all these years though. That scared Naruto. One of his worst enemies was now a part of his supernatural war. Well, he wouldn't have a problem slaying Dosu if it came to it.

"I'm sorry about Shikamaru!" Choji blurted from at the end of the table over the laugh Sasuke was sharing with Kiba about an insult towards Dosu.

The attention shifted down to the quiet boy who was quivering a little as he looked at Sasuke. It was a nervous and embarrassed shaking; not one of fear. Sasuke blinked once and a kind smile alighted on his face that made Naruto want to vomit.

"Why are you apologizing?" he began. "It's not your fault. I don't expect everyone to like me. Shikamaru's entitled to his opinion. I may not understand where it come from but, I won't argue with it."

The capacity for forgiveness and automatic understanding finished off Naruto's friends. He knew that Sasuke had enticed them into trusting him and he couldn't do anything about it. He had lost this fight and the defeat was like bile in his mouth, especially when Sasuke turned to meet his glare again. There was superiority and self-achievement in those venomous eyes. He knew he'd won and his next words just rubbed it in.

"I don't mind a little hate. It's actually a relief after all the sugary-sweet adoration people have been giving me. It's nice to be treated like a human being for once."

* * *

Naruto's mind was racing as he tracked down the address given to him after school that day. He kept running the scene at lunch through his head, trying to find an answer from it that could solve all his problems. Sasuke just wanted to piss him off by staking a claim over his friends. He'd gotten the message the vampire had been intent on sending. He was going to fight him throughout all of this confusion. He wasn't going to make anything easy for him. Today's incident had been the warm up round. Sasuke had finally displayed what he was capable of and had opened up Naruto's eyes to all he had to lose. He had offered him an opportunity to surrender before he got hurt. It was insulting, really.

Naruto couldn't stand how Sasuke had harnessed all the power out from under him. He was holding all the aces before Naruto had gotten the chance to draw. His accomplishment in firing at the leech had been completely wiped away with his sudden rise to the challenge. Naruto hoped the hunters could help him, especially the one he was about to meet. As much as he wanted to get information from this stranger, the boy also wanted to get home so he could call Shikamaru. His outburst today had given Naruto a shred of hope. If he could only save one friend from falling under Sasuke's spell, it was going to have to be Shikamaru. He had to make sure the doubt remained in his lazy comrade and try to feed it even more. He had a busy night ahead of him but, he knew it would all be worth it.

Naruto took a quiet and calming breath as he stood at the address. The building before him was small and a little run-down. It was squished between two large department stores and if the directions he had been given weren't so specific, Naruto would have walked right past it. He hadn't known it was a bookstore which surprised him a little. Feeling unsure, the blond stepped through the glass door beneath the faded white and red sign that read, "BOOKS." He twitched at the tinkling bell that sounded upon his entrance. This was a hunter's hideout? It was such a typical bookstore! The small space was packed with books in disorganized rows and piles. There were five shelves on each wall filled with beat up tomes that leaned, precariously, against each other. Everything else was packed together in disheveled mounds of leather and paper.

"Um…hello?" the amateur hunter called, looking around the towers of books for any sign of life.

The place was lit by a single bulb, dangling in the center of the ceiling. Any other light came from the setting sun through the front windows – which weren't the cleanest for letting light in. Naruto carefully maneuvered around the various novels and encyclopedias and eventually found himself at what he assumed was the desk where you paid – the desk being a few boards of wood, sloppily nailed together as if by a six-year-old. There was a paint-chipped door behind the box-like desk and that was it. Who the hell was he supposed to meet in a dusty place like this? And where the hell was he?

"Hello?" he called again, wondering if he should go around the box-desk to knock on the rickety-looking door.

"We heard you the first time."

Naruto jumped at the whispery sound and whirled around in fright. At first, he thought the pale man standing behind him was a ghost, or worse, a leech. However, he recognized the voice from over the phone. Was this who he was supposed to meet? Where the hell had he come from? Naruto doubted he could have missed him in such a small space.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked him, trying to calm his racing heart after the scare he'd given him.

"He's Sakon," a similar voice said behind him, making Naruto yelp and jump around again.

The pale, gray-haired man that had just stood before him now leaned over the box-desk, looking at the blond, inquisitively.

"He's Ukon," the same voice said behind Naruto.

The boy's heart started to beat regularly again when he stepped back and found that there were in fact two men in the small shop with him. They were just one hundred percent identical.

"Geez, you're awfully skittish for a guy that wants to hunt leeches," the first twin – Sakon – said, rolling his eyes.

"Huntress did not lie," Ukon – the twin behind the box – added, snorting in disdain. "You definitely overreact."

"We have a lot of work cut out for us, brother," Sakon sighed, looking Naruto over, skeptically.

"No wonder Tayuya dropped him on us," Ukon said. "She'd never have the patience to teach him the necessities."

"Hey!" Naruto interrupted the twins, trying to keep up with their quick chatter. "Can you stop talking like I'm not here and start giving me some answers?"

"The big mouth she would have fared great with though," Ukon commented, as if Naruto had never opened his mouth.

"She might have ripped him to shreds but, being talked back to might have done her good," Sakon continued.

"Should I just leave? Was there any point in me coming here, at all?" Naruto spat out, his temper rising as they continued to disregard him.

"Yes and yes," they both answered, their identical voices melding together to sound like one.

Naruto blinked once as they stared at him, like he was supposed to do something. They were useless, he gathered in that second. What the hell was Huntress thinking, sending him here? He shook his head in disgust, feeling like a fool, and turned on his heel to leave.

"Didn't Huntress say not to do anything stupid?" one of the twin voices hissed after Naruto.

"Leaving would be stupid," the other followed.

"Standing here wasting time is – Gah!"

Naruto turned around to retort and was surprised again when he found the twins directly behind him, only a few inches away. They moved so fast and so silently! He would have never known they were there! How did they do that? Were they human? Huntress wouldn't send him to anything more, would she? Honestly, he was starting to have his doubts. Tayuya was such a beast that he had thought she was a devil spat out of Hell! And now there were these two…

"We have a lot to teach you," both, black-clad brothers told him.

"Already, you're bad at anticipating," the one he thought was Sakon said.

"You're also to full of yourself," the other – which he assumed was Ukon – went on.

"You're senses need to be sharpened."

"You're wardrobe needs to be changed."

"It doesn't look like you have any fighting ability."

"And your freakishness might cost you with the slayer."

"Overall, you're a mess."

"We have our work cut out for us."

They finished together and just stared at him. They had spoken to fast for his brain to comprehend it so it took him a moment to catch up. These two were going to teach him how to slay the Uchihas? He was a dead man!

"How are you going to teach me?" he asked them, aloud.

"Come back tomorrow morning," Sakon – or at least he thought – instructed.

"Don't forget your slayer," Ukon quickly added.

"We'll expect you at ten."

"Eat something healthy."

"And don't tell anyone about us."

"Ta ta!"

Again, it took Naruto a moment to process all of that and when he was next able to think, coherently, he was blinking in confusion on the sidewalk outside the shop. He turned around and found the twins smiling and waving at him from behind the glass door. He stared at them, trying to comprehend what the hell had just happened. Slowly, he started to walk away, keeping a wary eye on the disturbing pair behind the glass until he was out of sight.

* * *

"Absolutely not," had been what Itachi had said when Sasuke had told him he was going to pay Naruto a visit. "The brat has a slayer, Sasuke. He almost shot you last night. You have to stay away from him."

"It was a lucky shot," Sasuke argued, coolly. "The kid has no idea what he's doing. No harm will come of this visit. I promise."

His brother had stared at him, with nothing to say, for a very long time. Sasuke was touched at the worry all over his lover's face but, he had to convince him to let him do what he had to.

"I have to get it through his head, Itachi. He's stubborn to an extent. I'm in a very persuasive mood today and I have a good feeling. Trust me, I'll be fine."

Itachi gazed at him for a few breaths longer before finally giving in. The elder Uchiha closed his eyes and gently pulled Sasuke into an embrace, stroking his spiky hair, fondly. All of his concern flooded over Sasuke with his affectionate motions, pushing the younger brother to hug him back.

"Break a finger for me all right," Itachi teased, kissing his brother's head.

"Gladly," Sasuke sighed, stepping back and smiling up at Itachi.

"Be careful. I'll be listening."

Sasuke nodded and gave him a kiss good-bye before flitting down the many flights of stairs in the mansion and departing. He didn't waste any time, arriving at Naruto's apartment door a heartbeat after stepping out of the mansion. Sasuke had felt good ever since he had mentally kicked Naruto's ass that day at lunch. He didn't know what had possessed him to wait so long to go on the offensive. He was an immortal Uchiha and Naruto was a human nobody! He was a human nobody that had dared to fire a silver bullet at him. He should have never taken pity on the kid. He was a nuisance to Sasuke and he wasn't going to stand for anymore of his pointless, revenge crap.

With a confident, business-like smile on his face, Sasuke knocked on Naruto's door. He could scent the pulsing blood in Naruto's body from within the apartment and he could hear his soft footsteps coming to answer the door. The Uchiha also scented something else. It was bizarre and alien and Sasuke had a feeling he was supposed to know what it was. The fact that he could not identify it troubled Sasuke but, he brushed the worry aside as Naruto opened the door. It was probably just some form of mortal trash, Sasuke told himself, evil grin in place to greet Naruto. The scent smelled foul enough to be as such.

"Evening," Sasuke greeted the boy, cheerily.

He didn't contain the chuckle spawned from the shock and bewilderment on the blond's face. Good, he should be scared. Maybe he'd keep his damn bullets to himself, then. Before the boy could slam the door in his face, Sasuke easily melted around Naruto and came to stand in the middle of the living room. The Uchiha examined his new surroundings as Naruto shut and locked the door, thinking Sasuke was still on the other side.

"This place is so small," he spoke up, boredly, listening to Naruto whirl around in horror as he continued to survey his surroundings. "How do you live here every day? I would get claustrophobic."

That weird smell continued to fill Sasuke's heightened senses, making his stomach lurch in disgust. It was so vulgar! What the hell was it?

"What the hell do you want," Naruto growled and Sasuke detested how he demanded an answer more than questioned him like that.

Who did the brat think he was? Wasn't he aware of how easily Sasuke could snap him in two? It may piss off Tsunade and the Council but, the Uchiha really wouldn't mind taking him out. It would be much less of a burden for him and Itachi.

"No wonder your friends like me better," Sasuke sighed, pleasantly, not answering him since what he wanted would make him look guilty of all the murders. "You have a lot less to offer."

Sasuke's sly smile broadened as he sensed the heat rise in his opponent. He crossed over to Naruto's bedroom in three, long strides. He was enjoying his torture of the blond. It was unlike him and cruel but, as far as Sasuke was concerned, Naruto deserved it. He was being an idiot and had to get some sense knocked into him. Plus, that disgusting smell was making the Uchiha feel even more aggressive.

"It's so easy to win you people over," Sasuke went on, folding his hands behind his back and bouncing around the room, examining all the tiny details. "All it takes is a smile and a lie."

"You sick bastard," Naruto seethed in the bedroom doorway, emanating hatred. "How do you live with yourself knowing you've deceived such innocent people?"

"Oh, that's just the thing!" Sasuke beamed, pompously. "I don't live. But, you know all about that, don't you?"

Sasuke stood up straight and grinned at the blond, proudly showing off his gleaming teeth and adoring the way Naruto's eyes twitched in a fearful response. That was how it should always be, Sasuke told himself. The brat was supposed to fear him. He wouldn't let him forget the disadvantage he had.

"I'm a heartless bastard, right?" Sasuke asked of him, stalking past to the window," unconsciously following that revolting smell. "I kill for pleasure and don't care about anyone's feelings. That's what we are to you, isn't it?"

"Why are you here?" Naruto hissed, trying to sound menacing but, just making Sasuke laugh.

"You have some foolish vendetta against me. I'm just scoping out enemy territory," Sasuke answered, simply, sniffing at the windowpane.

What _was _that? It was a familiar sent but…he just couldn't place it…It was bothering him, he realized. It wasn't just bothersome to his thoughts but, also to his physical state. Now that it had gained his attention and he was paying it mind, his limbs felt a little stiff and he was a little dizzy. As the scent grew stronger when he continued to pursue it, Sasuke's eyes stung a tiny bit. He recognized this reaction…people had it all the time…allergies, right? He didn't get allergies though…

Panic that Sasuke hadn't felt in centuries rushed through him as his cold eyes found a yellowed bulb in the dark, top corner of Naruto's window. He hadn't come into contact with the damned herb for so long that he didn't recognize it at first. In fact, he had completely forgotten his vulnerability to it. He hadn't been exposed to it for _so _long. He had to get out of there, Sasuke realized. He had to leave before Naruto knew it was weakening him! Just as the bewildered Uchiha straightened to make his escape, something hard came into contact with his head and he couldn't stop himself from collapsing to the floor. His vision swam with purplish dots and he could barely make out Naruto's shoes beside his face. The kid had him at his weakest…_damnit._

* * *

_I will not bow / I will not break / I will shut the world away / I will not fall / I will not fade / I will take your breath away_


	15. CHAPTER 14 Time of Dying

**~Chapter XIV~**

_~Time of Dying~_

* * *

_On the ground I lay / Motionless in pain / I can see my life flashing before my eyes / Then I fall asleep / Is this all a dream / Wake me up / I'm living a nightmare_

* * *

Naruto stood in disbelief, shaking in excitement. Everything had happened so quickly that the blond thought it hadn't happened at all. Yet, there was Sasuke, the bloodthirsty monster that had torn his heart to shreds. There he was, lying on his bedroom floor. He had really hit him. He hadn't missed. He couldn't believe that had worked! The textbook had been the first, heavy thing that came within Naruto's horrified sights. He knew he couldn't retrieve his new slayer without Sasuke catching him. He panicked when Sasuke barged into his home and didn't automatically collapse from the smell. He didn't understand. However, Naruto had noticed how the Uchiha seemed to follow the scent around the apartment. He had also noticed that he wasn't moving as inhumanly fast as usual for a leech making threats.

It had been a long shot but, Naruto took the chance while Sasuke's back was turned and swung the hardcover book as hard as he could at the Uchiha's head. When he fell, Naruto knew that his garlic-wolfsbane concoction had served its purpose. Huntress's advice hadn't let him down after all. Naruto could not celebrate so soon, though. As weak as Sasuke had become, the blow hadn't knocked him unconscious. Naruto snapped out of his shocked state when a frustrated, guttural growl emanated from the vampire's throat. The blond let the textbook fall from his hands as Sasuke struggled to get up. The boy darted to his bedside and found the gun in his dresser drawer.

"Don't move!" he barked at Sasuke, aiming the gun at his head.

The Uchiha glared up at the boy through his strands of onyx hair. Naruto struggled to stop his trembling. The bright red irises burning up at him through that mess of dark bangs, made the blonde's heart race. Those eyes were filled with hate and aggravation. Naruto had become no stranger to catching glimpses of the Devil on that perfect face. Regardless, those blazing eyes always struck him with immobilizing terror.

"You're the worst hunter I've ever seen," Sasuke hissed, getting his hands beneath him and struggling into a sitting position.

He fell, heavily, against the wall beneath the window and leaned there, panting, as if he was trying to catch his breath. He couldn't though, Naruto thought. Monsters like Sasuke didn't have breath to spare, and yet, Sasuke looked so _human_. He looked like he had just run a marathon, sweat beading his forehead and his chest rising and falling in a rush.

"Anyone else would have taken that shot a _long _time ago," he went on, his head lolling against the wall as he continued to gaze at Naruto.

The hate had ebbed away a little in those red eyes enough so Naruto's frantic heart beat a little easier. Now, Sasuke looked up at him rather expectantly and impatiently. Did he _want _him to pull the trigger? The way he looked at him made it seem like he was daring him to do it.

"For someone who is out for revenge, you sure are taking a while to finish the job," Sasuke taunted. "Perhaps, you've finally come to your senses and realized these killings weren't by my hand."

"Shut up!" Naruto snapped, his hands steadying around the slayer.

Sasuke gazed at him, waiting…just waiting, it seemed. How was he so cool, looking into the barrel of what he knew could destroy him? He was vulnerable. In the conditions present, there was no way Sasuke could outrun a bullet and Naruto did not intend on missing again. Why was Naruto the one panicking when it was Sasuke who was in danger?  
"Are you waiting for an invitation?" that fluid voice hummed, drenched with all the patience and lack of concern in the world.

It made Naruto shudder. Why was he acting this way? The boy silently berated himself. Where was his deadly intent from the night before and his cold confidence from when he glared off with Itachi? This was his chance to end the agony the Uchihas had caused. All he had to do was pull the trigger. It only took one bullet. This was what he had wanted for so many grieving weeks. Maybe it was Sasuke. Although he was weak, he was still a vampire. He had powers…those eyes, that voice…

"You're a lucky bastard," Sasuke sighed, shifting on the floor and reaching a sluggish hand up to the back of his head.

It was the slowest Naruto had ever seen the Uchiha. The blond didn't think he was in pain though. Despite the pinpricks of moisture on his forehead and the silent heaving of his chest, Sasuke seemed perfectly unaffected by the blow Naruto had dealt him. As his hand found the abused area, Sasuke hissed as if in agony but, there was nothing in his posture that indicated there was any truth behind it. He was just taunting him, Naruto thought in fury. He truly was daring him to do worse. He didn't feel threatened in the slightest.

"I can guarantee that if anyone else was in my position right now, you might not have an eye or something," Sasuke stated, nonchalantly, dropping his hand back to his side.

The movement was heavier and hastier than it usually was, just reminding Naruto that the garlic-filled air was definitely still working. Sasuke may be disheartening him with his unbearable ease but, in truth, Naruto still had the higher ground. Sasuke was just trying to trick him into thinking otherwise. The blond dragged his quivering gaze away from the Uchiha's, averting it just enough so that he could watch all of Sasuke's movements without falling prey to those misleading eyes.

_Calm down, _Naruto told himself. _He knows you're scared. He knows he's stronger than you. You have to prove that you're more than what he thinks. You have to outsmart him while he's at the disadvantage. Pull it together Naruto! Huntress will kill me for not shooting the second I had the chance!_

He heard Tayuya calling him an idiot and heard Sakon and Ukon snickering at his inability to succeed. Naruto's trembling stopped as he imagined Huntress's virtual scolding if he lived through this coincidence. His dry lips parted slightly and he inhaled, deeply. The intake of fragrant air broke through the tense knot in his throat and cooled past his pounding heart, carefully drawing it back to a calmer, rhythmic beat.

Sasuke listened. His eyelids drooped down, still slightly dazed from the blow to his head. He watched the wreck of a boy before him, critically. The sly Uchiha deducted that there were two sides to Uzumaki Naruto. There was one that he had a fondness for; that was emotional, unsteady, and irrational. That was the Naruto that Sasuke had so looked forward to befriending when he first returned to Konoha. That was the one he knew he could handle without flaw. Then, there was this new Naruto, spawned from grief and ambition. This Naruto was ruthless and blazed with a lust for vengeance. He was single-minded and dangerous, even to Sasuke.

Especially when he was trapped in his present state, Sasuke wasn't sure how he was going to deal with the monstrous face of his confused adversary. The Uchiha had let his guard down. He was disgusted with himself for allowing someone as inferior as _Naruto _to catch him like he did. Sasuke mentally badgered himself about the garlic a million times within a single second whilst continuing his observation of the blond. He had gone so long with not a care in the world that he had truly grasped hold of the concept of being indestructible. Itachi was right, he was always right. They were not Gods, just advanced. They were not invincible, just fast enough to outrun a silver bullet and smart enough to know garlic when they smelled it.

_Fool_, Sasuke scolded himself as he struggled to decide on a strategy for his current dilemma. _I let my pride cloud my judgment. How does this kid know all our weaknesses? I thought he only started meeting the hunters yesterday! There's no way he could have learned so much in such a short time._

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in thought, still pinpointed on Naruto. He could probably disarm him now. Even if he couldn't go at the speed he'd been so accustomed to for so long, he was confident he could catch him off guard. He just needed an escape route after that without letting Naruto land another hit. He also needed information. Who _exactly _was he working with that was supplying him with tips and bullets? He had to play this carefully.

"Did the hunters tell you about that?" he inquired, casually, black eyes drifting up towards the garlic in the window but, also keeping Naruto in sight. "Or, did you come up with that all on your own?"

The Uchiha's eyes returned entirely to Naruto when he started chuckling. It was a dark, raspy sound full of superiority and intellect. The blond pulled his hard eyes up to lock with Sasuke's and with a pang of regret, the revenant recognized that vengeful side of Naruto, unleashed. The more the boy pursued his need for vengeance, the more Sasuke saw of those monstrous eyes…eyes like his own. No normal teenager should have such a lethal appearance.

"That's the second time you've tried to get answers out of me," Naruto laughed, standing up straighter as he presumed the mindset of a true vampire hunter.

He didn't have to be afraid. Sasuke's powers had been dimmed. He was stuck on the same level as Naruto now. He could finally take him on an equal playing field. He didn't have to be afraid. He was the one holding the gun. That relaxed look on Sasuke's face was just a façade. He was an expert at concealing his true emotions. He had hundreds of years of experience in that field. When it came to mind games, Naruto was well aware that he was always going to be far outmatched. He would never be able to get inside Sasuke's head but, he could do what he could to evade the leech's penetrating tricks.

"If I didn't tell you the first time, what makes you think now would be any different?"

"You're going to destroy me, aren't you?" Sasuke inquired, cocking a brow, almost like in curiosity. "I'd be put to well rest if you answered my questions before you pulled the trigger."

"You don't deserve a peaceful rest," Naruto snapped, dropping one hand from around the slayer and taking an aggressive two steps closer to his captive vampire.

Sasuke did not flinch in any way, shape, or form at Naruto's rough advance. He wouldn't be fooled though. Sasuke was just trying to make him doubt himself by acting like he wasn't in danger. Uchiha Sasuke was going to die for good tonight. Naruto was going to make him suffer for all the lives he took.

"After all the pain you've caused, I hope you go to Hell weighed with all the guilt in the world," Naruto hissed, his heart throbbing with adrenaline as he aimed his weapon at the bastard's skull.

"The only thing I'm guilty of is being witness to a murder and fleeing the scene," Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes at how dramatic the boy was being. "I haven't killed a damn thing throughout my entire existence."

"Bullshit!" Naruto spat, in contempt. "You could have never survived without – "

"It's called a blood bank dumbass!" Sasuke retorted, harshly, fed up with this know-it-all. "Do some more research before barking accusations out of that fat trap. These hunters teaching you must really suck if you still don't know our different diets."

"It doesn't matter," Naruto growled, scathingly. "You obviously don't get your dinner from a blood bank."

"I'm not the murderer, you ignorant bastard!" Sasuke exploded.

He couldn't stand it anymore! He couldn't bear listening to this brat's insolence! He thought he was so fearsome with that damn gun in his face. Did he really think an unsteady hand and an Italian seasoning was going to protect him? Sasuke was clearly not going to get any answers from the bumbling idiot. Fine, he could find out the information he required on his own. He was tired of having to breathe in the odorous air and pretend he couldn't fend for himself.

His head still ached, unnaturally – for him – but, he had no doubt that he could easily gain the upper hand. He was not accustomed to his suppressed speed but, he knew he would always be faster than Naruto. He had a plan and he had intelligence. He knew where to run and where to hit. Reeking garlic wasn't going to stop him and that silver gun didn't scare him in the slightest. Naruto should be the one who was afraid. It was him who was in danger from that crazy mass murderer: him and all the people in Konoha. There was no time to be sitting there, taking the blame, when the real killer was out there, both killing and _recruiting _innocent people.

"Why Sakura?" Naruto suddenly asked through Sasuke's scheming quiet.

The Uchiha blinked – more from the increasing sting in his eyes. He gazed up at Naruto, plotting his first move to escape, and tilted his head on an angle, as if he was implying for the boy to continue. He could distract him with conversation. It would work to his benefit.

"Why did you have to kill Sakura?" he repeated, his words scalding past his lips. "Of all the people…why her?"

"Is that the _only thing _you care about?" Sasuke asked in true disbelief. "Everything you're doing is just for a meaningless romp in the back of a car?"

"Tell me why!" Naruto roared.

Sasuke's eyes flared up in pure disgust and fury. All that brat cared about was his bimbo ex-girlfriend? He was trying to eradicate him solely to avenge that stupid whore? A feral growl thrummed in Sasuke's throat and erupted into a snarl. The sound filled the room as it ripped into existence. With it, Sasuke lashed out and grabbed the barrel of Naruto's slayer. Naruto reacted faster than the Uchiha had expected and fired a bullet. It went whizzing past, however, as Sasuke yanked the barrel clear of his body, jerking Naruto to the side as well. Sasuke's ears rang at the loud blast and his palm tingled after feeling the bullet travel out of the weapon. All those feelings were alien to him. He was stunned a split-second after the bullet had embedded into the wall behind him.

Naruto barely had time to react after he fired his first shot. His rage and his instinct triggered his next move. His foot connected with Sasuke's abdomen and his grip weakened around the slayer. The second it was free, the unbridled anger exploded inside Naruto and he threw all of it into swinging the silver gun and making it connect with Sasuke's face. The Uchiha yelped at the impact and fell against the carpeted floor again. A thrill raced through the blond like an electric volt when he saw the crimson liquid on the vampire's face. The gun's impact had split open his lip and the red stood out vibrantly against his white skin. Naruto still held the weapon in a vice grip but, that wasn't what he lifted next.

He was barely aware of what he was doing past the vermillion haze that had fallen over his eyes. He watched Sasuke convulse as his own foot connected with his side for the first time. He watched him cover his mouth and cough, trickles of scarlet dripping between his fingers. That was _her _blood, Naruto thought. It was hers and so many others. It was the blood of countless victims. Three hundred years was plenty of time to devour all the innocent souls required to sustain that corpse-like body. None of that blood was Sasuke's alone, Naruto kept thinking, over and over again. He kicked his prisoner again, harder than the first time. And he kicked him again…and again…and again.

It had been to long since Uchiha Sasuke had experienced pain. He had existed in a pampered and sheltered environment, full of love and affection, since he'd adjusted to his bloody lifestyle. Naruto's blows hurt more than they probably should have and when he started kicking him in rapid succession it was all Sasuke could do not to beg for mercy. He had never tasted his own blood before. It wasn't the same as what he drank from a glass. As it filled his mouth, there was no sweetness or pleasure he sought to enjoy. It was metallic and all he wanted was to spit it out. As it rose in his throat, he started coughing just to keep it out of his mouth. When he saw it in his hand though, he was filled with dread. Just as this feeling would sweep through him, Naruto would kick him again.

His side seared in pain every time Naruto's foot connected with his ribs. The pain was unbearable. His cold body was not reacting like it should to prevent that hurt and he himself was too paralyzed with shock to defend himself. His brain kept concentrating on different things. Whether it was the blood in his mouth, Naruto assaulting him, or his burning eyes…Sasuke just _could not _move.

And Naruto took advantage of this. He didn't ask himself why Sasuke wasn't fighting back. He didn't stop in his repeating attacks to wonder about his safety. Not once did he think Sasuke's stillness meant he should look out. Naruto knew better than to underestimate him but, at that moment, he was delivering justice for all the people that bastard had killed. Sasuke was suffering like they had. Naruto could see the agony in his sickly pallor…he could see Sakura's terror emptying into him. Naruto remembered her last moments so vividly and they just fueled his violence towards Sasuke even more. Every time Sasuke coughed up blood, the boy remembered the blood on his shirt. He remembered the blood pouring out of her, soaking his legs…He remembered her petrified jade eyes and her gasping last word…

"You worthless monster!" Naruto shouted through his rage, blind with heartache.

Why did Sakura have to die? Why did this demon get to kill so many people and still live forever? Naruto didn't know why but, he came to a halt over Sasuke. His fury was exhausting. He panted, heavily, as he glared down at the shuddering leech. He was still coughing, futilely trying to keep the blood concealed. His ruby eyes were rimmed in the same scarlet as the liquid vomiting out of him. Those eyes constantly blinked around the rib racking coughs. It almost looked like he was holding back tears. If it was anyone else, Naruto may have felt some sort of pity but, this was the nightmare that butchered the girl he loved. He deserved no mercy.

"What gives you the right?" Naruto started, trembling with molten flowing rage. "Why do you get to come in my town and decide who lives and dies?"

"_Your _town?"

Sasuke gagged on a contemptuous laugh, shuddering in foreign agony. Frosty relief soaked over the crippled Uchiha as the amateur hunter paused in his vengeful assault. He needed to get talking. He need to provide a distraction while his mind caught up with what was happening; while his brain registered that he was in _pain_. He hadn't experienced such a thing in far too long. His head pounded as he could only concentrate on the searing ache in his side. He was just too shocked to fight back. He had never been the victim before. He was never the one that was cornered – he was never the prey. He had to figure out how to cope with the alien feel of the situation and for that, he had to keep Naruto at arm's length.

"You talk…like you own this town," he struggled to say as his rusty blood continued to splash past his quivering lips. "What makes you…so damn superior?"

Sasuke's eyes squeezed shut in pain as they continued to burn in his skull. The stench of garlic still drowned out his senses and the more he breathed it in, the more his eyes blazed. The survival instinct, struggling to stay alight in his head, told him to simply stop breathing. However, as his body kept rejecting blood, he found he _needed _air more than ever. Perhaps it was his ancient, mortal instinct that was triggering his desperate reaction. He didn't know. _Everything _was upside down for Sasuke now. The only thing that was remotely clear to him was that he _had to get out_.

"I'm the only one that can try and stop you," Naruto responded to his defiant question. "I love everyone and everything in Konoha and I will _not _let you steal anymore of it away from me!"

"How many times will I have to tell you this?" Sasuke burst, his voice laced with a thunderous snarl. "I didn't kill anyone!"

"Liar!"

Naruto wasn't violent by nature. He had never caused harm to _anything_. Although he was scarcely aware of it, his actions stirred a great conflict within him. His stomach churned in turmoil as he bent down and grabbed hold of Sasuke's disorganized hair. With a mighty heave, Naruto hauled the off balance Uchiha halfway across the room, his glacial body colliding with a leg of the bed with a loud crash. For a moment, Naruto's constricted chest unwound in delight, thinking the cracking noise was perhaps from a breaking vampire bone. When said individual did not stir post-impact, the boy's spirits dropped, realizing the weak wood of his bed frame could never withstand against the marble skin of a damned leech.

"Everything was fine before you showed up," Naruto went on, his voice and thoughts void of any sympathy for the pathetic bundle of black and white before him. "All the problems started when the two of you barged into everyone's lives. No one died before you came."

When thin trickles of blood began to leak past Sasuke's dark lashes, he actually started to feel…scared. He was bleeding, he kept repeating in his mind-boggled head. He had never bled before. The blood had never come from his own body. How could this be happening? Why – after such a long, peaceful existence – was everything going so horribly wrong? Naruto was talking to him, Sasuke noted as the closest hand to his face felt the droplets of blood beneath his eye. He was voicing his own troubles about Konoha's recent tragedies. So he wasn't the only one that had noticed. How long before someone else picked up on the connection? he wondered, absently. He was having trouble prioritizing when he was in such a state.

_Escape_, he reminded himself. _Enough teasing. Information is no longer vital. Just get out…_

It hurt – so much that he wanted to scream – just to keep his eyes open. He wanted to tear them out of their sockets. He just wanted to gouge them free and eliminate that scalding pain. But, he needed to see. He needed to know where he was going. It would be over when he left this place, he convinced himself. The burning agony would go away when he got home. All he had to do was move. It would hurt but, it would be worth it, he told himself. Past the blazing red in his ravenous vision, Sasuke found the rectangular doorway that led out from the bedroom and into the living area. The front door of the apartment was out there and beyond that were two flights of stairs descending to his freedom. He knew where to go. Now, he just had to will his breaking body to move.

Naruto felt strange as he watched Sasuke struggle to move. His blond head lolled to the side and he looked on in vague interest. Where did that monster think he was going? Did he really think Naruto would allow him to escape and kill again? What was the point in trying to move? It was hopeless, Naruto thought. He had won this battle. He would shoot Sasuke through the place where his heart was supposed to be and eliminate one threat to the innocent civilians that he'd grown up with. Imagining Konoha free of the Uchihas nudged Naruto forward. The slayer in his hand had lost all its weight and it just felt like an extension of his arm. He felt no fear or tug of hesitation as he approached the feeble Uchiha. He felt no mercy. Was that what it felt like to be a hunter? It was invigorating to hold the power for once; to watch the enemy squirm beneath him.

Naruto stopped before the leech and watched him struggle to crawl to safety. He looked like a beaten puppy, Naruto thought…Perfect. Maybe he had a taste of what his victims had felt before they were brutally murdered. Maybe Naruto's justice was being served right before his eyes. He felt victorious and his vengeance tasted sweet as he watched crimson stain Sasuke's white skin. The boy was cold with hate and vacant of pity for the demon. Mechanically and mercilessly, Naruto's foot pressed down on the back of Sasuke's head, preventing the latter from inching any nearer to escape. Sasuke didn't fight him back and Naruto automatically assumed it was because the garlic had drained him of all strength. If he had been thinking sensibly and acutely, he would have thought twice about his position, yet again. But, he raised his gun and nudged all his doubts behind him over the Uchiha's execution.

"Did you ever once feel guilty?" Naruto growled as he glared down at the pitiful form of the murderer at his feet. "Did you ever once think of the life you were so selfishly bringing to a stop?"

"I didn't kill anyone," Sasuke denied, voice shaking in pain and outrage.

"How can you deny it?" Naruto laughed and Sasuke inwardly shuddered at how insane and maniacal it sounded. "The one thing I will never understand is how you can say that without an ounce of guilt in your head."

"…Stupid bastard," Sasuke managed to spit past the revolting taste in his mouth.

"I hope that when you get to Hell, you rot for the lives you've ruined," Naruto finished, preparing to pull the trigger. "You and your bastard brother."

Naruto ignored how his prisoner tensed at the mention of the elder brother. Nothing was going to stop him from finishing what he had begun. He was on top of the world. He could say anything and there wasn't a damn thing the leech could do about it.

"Maybe you're brother will be a little bit more of a challenge when I go to take his head off next."

There was Sasuke's breaking point. He had dared to mention Itachi. He dared to _threaten _his precious brother. Three things became abundantly clear to Uchiha Sasuke in that instant: 1. He could not hold back if he was going to clear his name, 2. He couldn't clear his name if he didn't get up, and 3. He would not allow Itachi to undergo the same torture he was victim to now. A fire blazed through his limbs and his wounded eyes sparked back to red life. He had tried to be nice. He had tried to spare Naruto any physical damage. There was a reason people like him were feared for so many thousands of years. There was a reason he was the predator and never the prey.

Another snarl tore to shreds the silence in the room and Sasuke's clawed hand was clamped around Naruto's leg in the blink of an eye. The boy had zero time to react before the furious Uchiha pressed down and fractured his shin bone. The blond collapsed with a shocked howl and Sasuke swiftly removed himself from the flattened position, surging on past the molten hurt throbbing all around him. He fell on Naruto, silver canines sharpened and bared in a grisly hiss. He pinned the hunter to the floor, grabbing hold of the gun and battling for control of its deadly aim.

"You will suffer before you hurt anyone I love," he growled, an animalistic menace echoing his fierce voice.

"We agree on something, then," Naruto spat back, voice as hard as his diamond eyes.

The boy held fast to his sole hope of survival and his heart raced at Sasuke's newfound strength. He thought that when the eyes started to bleed, a vampire was as good as gone. He didn't let the rebound faze him though, feeling as he fought for the gun that Sasuke had not regained his inhuman strength. He just had enough to defy him and Naruto knew he was in no danger. Said hunter managed to latch onto his feral attacker and got his feet beneath him. The blond rolled back and pushed against Sasuke, sending the wounded revenant somersaulting over his head.

Sasuke tumbled a few feet until his spine connected with the doorframe. Breath he never expected he needed swept out of him but, he caught himself on his hands and knees before he fell flat on his face again. He took a second to empty his mouth of more blood and to let the green splotches in his vision settle. As soon as he could get his worn down body in working order, Sasuke examined his surroundings again and maneuvered to make his long-awaited exit. He had landed in the doorway to the bedroom. Peering around the edge, he found the door to the apartment.

He glanced at Naruto, whom was scrambling to his feet, slayer still molded to his palm. He would have to move quickly if he had a chance of getting to his freedom before Naruto got his bearings. He didn't know how severely he had disabled the boy with his defensive attack. He thought he had felt something snap and when his captor fell, he assumed he had at least fractured the bone. By the way Naruto was finding his feet, however, Sasuke had his doubts about his effect. Thinking as fast as he could with his abused head, the Uchiha stumbled out of the bedroom, bracing himself against the doorway, and pushed himself as fast as he could to the door standing between him and fresh air.

Sasuke's back was all Naruto saw. He completely, disregarded whatever pain may be in his leg and remained intent upon the killer. This was the best he had ever done against him and he didn't plan on staggering when he was so unbearably close to completing his revenge. He could not allow the monster to escape his clutches and terrorize the town further. Almost automatically upon rising, Naruto raised the weapon and fired. A harsh yelp came from the Uchiha as the bullet connected with his arm. He fell to the living room floor, clutching his left arm, and groaning in distress.

The pain was excruciating. For a moment, Sasuke thought his arm had been torn from the shoulder and only the feel of it beneath his bloody hand assured him that it was still in tact. He had never felt a silver bullet before. He had never once experienced something so profoundly agonizing. He couldn't breathe as he hit the floor. He couldn't move. The pained screaming to caught in his throat and he hoped to God he would really die. There was no way to describe the molten torment pulsing through him as he lay there and wondered what he had done to deserve such violence. Why was all of this misery being dropped down on him and on one else? It wasn't his fault…

Naruto's leg ached but, he staggered forward to deliver the final blow. Sasuke was still, his bloody eyes wide in shock and his fanged mouth parted in a silent screech. Just like her, the boy thought, finding the scene eerily familiar. Just like all of them. He would never forget that wide, horrified gaze or those gasping, frantic breaths. He would never forget _why _he was slaying these merciless bloodsuckers. Naruto's hand went steady and his heartbeat slowed as he aimed the gun at Sasuke's head for the final time. This would be the fourth bullet he wasted on him. What Huntress would think, he wondered with a surge of pride. Would she be proud? Would all the hunters be proud? Konoha would be safe. That was most important.

"Good riddance Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto said with all the hatred and diamond ruthlessness in the world.

_Itachi_, was all Sasuke could think of in that moment.

All he could think of was how he wanted to at least see him once more before he was forced to close his eyes for eternity. And when he heard a thunderous crash, he feared it was the blast from the gun. For one second, everything around Sasuke was an incoherent mess and he wondered if he was in the afterlife where nothing made sense. The second flashed by and sound exploded in his eardrums once more. He was still on Earth, he realized past the fiery pain. He was saved.

Naruto had never seen the other vampire coming. Even after his instincts had scolded him to keep a wary ear open, he remained deaf to the warnings. If there was anyone who doubted there was a monster skulking through Konoha, Naruto wished they could see Uchiha Itachi at that moment. If he himself thought Sasuke was the true monster, he would always think twice from then on. The locks on the boy's door seemed to explode out of place as the door to the apartment pounded open, slamming against the inside wall with a loud crack. Instantly, Naruto turned his gun on the disturbance but, his vision was overrun with blazing eyes and flashing teeth before he even had the chance to identify the intruder. The young hunter was launched off his feet by a vicious swing of an arm and he smacked into the opposing wall like a fly on a windshield.

His throat was encased in alabaster claws before he could catch the breath knocked out of him. He felt his lungs buck at the lack of air flow and he was jolted into a panicked Hell. Uchiha Itachi, the leech brother that gave no second chances, literally had his life in his hand. Fear that had been long since dormant erupted inside of him as his ears recoiled at the unearthly roar spouted into his face. All he saw were spear-like canines and curled back lips. He felt as though he were looking into the mouth of a tiger more than a person. When those fearsome jaws closed, Naruto was met with eyes of volcanic ruby. A jolt of fire raced up his arm and his yowl of distress didn't make it past his clasped throat. The slayer dropped from his hand as Itachi wrenched his wrist to a sickening angle. The blonde's eyes crammed shut as if to will the new pain away. There was no way it wasn't broken this time, he thought, cynically. And there was no way he could worm his way out of Itachi's terrifying clutches.

"You'll die!" he fumed, his words guttural and savage, making the room tremble.

It was a promise, Naruto realized. Nothing would stop Itachi from making it true; nothing but his reason to exist.

"Don't…" came the rasping breath from the bloody vampire on the floor. "…Itachi…"

Multi-colored spots swarmed Naruto's vision as his head was thrust back against the wall with a thump. He tumbled to the floor, trying to blink back into awareness. By the time the world caught up with him again, his apartment was empty of vampires and the only hint that they had ever been there was the battered front door and the blood staining the floor.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Sasuke mumbled, meekly, into the dark fabric of his dear brother's shirt, as he was carried in his protective arms.

"Shhhh," Itachi crooned as they arrived at the towering entrance to their ancient abode. "I'm so sorry. I was distracted."

"…By what?" Sasuke asked, airily, eyes half open as Itachi hurried him inside.

Sasuke's chest tightened and his head ached in confusion when he made out the Count and his apprentice at the foot of the tall staircase inside.

"What's happening?" he managed to articulate and Itachi hugged him closer to his chest, the hand around his shoulder running in comforting circles.

"Nothing to worry about," the elder brother soothed and Sasuke couldn't find the energy to raise his head and search his expression.

His eyes were still sore anyway and the world around him consisted of gray and white fuzz. He could just make out the faces and objects around him but, the outlines were all blurred out. His mouth still tasted like rust and his arm throbbed where he'd been shot. He didn't want to talk or move anymore but, he had to know why Zabuza and Haku were at his house.

"Why're they here?" he asked, weakly.

"You need to rest," Itachi stated and Sasuke suddenly found himself lying in their soft bed, sinking into the pillows and reveling in the peace it brought him.

His senses came alive when he whiffed the sweet scent of the blood from their mini bar. Itachi hovered over him with a vermillion glass in his hand. He gently pressed it to his lover's scarred lips and the latter greedily lapped it up. Ice cold relief flooded his injured limbs and washed the revolting taste of his own blood out of his parched mouth. His wounded eyes fluttered shut in pure bliss as he soaked in the rejuvenating nectar. He could already feel his injuries closing up as he inhaled the garlic-free air and consumed the refreshing drink. When the glass was empty and Sasuke felt more like his true self, he felt wet warmth on his face and managed to open his eyes without discomfort. Itachi gently stroked the blood on his face away with a warm cloth, his maroon eyes over-flowing with worry.

"I'm sorry," the long-haired Uchiha whispered.

Sasuke blinked once in instantaneous forgiveness before his gaze slid to the side and fixed on the two visitors waiting at the foot of the bed.

"Why are they here?" he croaked again, noticing dark rings around the Oracle's vacant eyes.

"Nothing to worry about," Itachi repeated, his long fingers pulling his face back to look at his just as Sasuke caught Zabuza's contemplative and annoyed expression. "You should rest."

Sasuke held his brother's unwavering gaze, finding it difficult to keep his eyes open. The disastrous encounter had left him weary and unstable. He couldn't argue with Itachi now. He let his tired eyes assure his brother that he wouldn't forget the Count had been present when next he awakened. Itachi ran a hand through Sasuke's disheveled tendrils of hair and the younger Uchiha let his eyes drift shut. He closed himself off from the world around him and allowed himself to drop into an undead slumber. He promised himself that when he was next ready to open his eyes, he would make two people pay: the blood-thirsty monster that was framing him and the blue-eyed son of a bitch that dared to put a bullet in him. His patience had run dry. There would be no more mercy for Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

_I will not die / I will survive / I will not die / I'll wait here for you / I feel alive when you're beside me / I will not die / I'll wait here for you / In my time of dying_


	16. CHAPTER 15 Uprising

**~Chapter XV~**

_~Uprising~_

* * *

_Paranoia is in bloom / The transmissions will resume / As they try to push drugs to keep us all dumbed down / And hope that we will never see the truth around _

* * *

The victimized Uchiha opened his eyes to the dark gray ceiling of the Victorian mansion. He loved this house; it was where he had grown up and he had been overjoyed to see it still standing after their long absence. The family had left it to reliable hands with a clan of caretakers that had been allies for generations. They had taken care of the ancient house to the best of their abilities and Sasuke would always appreciate that but, more and more, the mansion was feeling less like his home.

"Are you alright?"

The question came from beside him and Sasuke's eyes fell from the ceiling and onto Itachi, standing beside the large bed. His eyes were still overflowing with concern but, Sasuke could see relief relaxing his pale face.

"I'm better," he answered, glad that it no longer hurt to talk or see.

"What do you need?" Itachi asked, his fingers trailing down the side of Sasuke's face.

"A glass wouldn't hurt," Sasuke chuckled, finding the requested product before him in a split second.

Itachi helped prop him up on the pillows – his arm still ached – and the weary Uchiha gladly accepted the drink. A contented sigh hissed past his slightly extended teeth and he inhaled the fresh air drifting through from the open glass doors out to the balcony.

"You look better," Itachi noted and Sasuke looked back at him over the transparent wine glass.

"Thank you for coming to the rescue," the younger brother said, smiling playfully.

Itachi smiled back, looking remorseful and exhausted. His hand lay upon his brother's fondly, and his thumb massaged small circles on the white skin.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, rust-colored gaze travelling over his lover's body like a doctor examining a patient.

"It was my fault," sighed Sasuke, sipping his red beverage. "I thought I could handle it but, I misjudged his knowledge of our weaknesses. I was unaware that he was so well-informed."

"We've been spoiled," the elder said, softly, afterwards leaving the room in a foreboding silence.

Sasuke had thought the same thing. He was ashamed in himself for being so foolish and reckless. He had been so sure that Naruto could do him no harm, despite the fact that he knew he was in possession of his possible demise.

"You never answered my question," Sasuke spoke up, noting by the sky outside that it was early morning following the day of the incident. "What kept you?"

"Nonsense from the Count," Itachi sighed. "The Oracle apparently had a vision he felt obliged to share with us."

"What kind of vision?" Sasuke asked, curiously.

"One of the future."

Sasuke took another gulp of the red nectar as he waited for Itachi to elaborate. So it was true.

"He may have seen the killer," Itachi began. "He said the image was indistinct and there was only one brief glimpse of him. The Council is going to hold out for another vision and see if they can get more than quick flashes to help in the investigation."

Sasuke nodded in understanding as he finished off his drink, resting the empty glass in his brother's hand. The younger Uchiha noticed a slight rigidity in his brother's posture as he went to deposit the glass at the mini-bar. His rust-colored eyes narrowed at the obvious distress coming from his brother.

"Was that all Haku saw?"

Itachi stopped moving altogether at the prying sound in his brother's question. His hand hovered motionlessly over the twinkling glasses and he stood like an entity frozen in time. Sasuke's gaze remained fixed on the back of his head, silently willing him to forfeit all the information from Haku's vision. A breezy sigh whispered back to Sasuke and Itachi flickered around to face him, dark red eyes troubled.

"The Oracle saw a lot more heartache in our futures, especially yours. He said that someone you've grown close to is going to die."

His words echoed in Sasuke's ears and he struggled to process them in his faintly fogged mind. His sights remained on his brother. He was the only one he cared about. No one else mattered to him. A panicked heat swept through him as the prospect of Itachi dying settled in his thoughts. Itachi noticed the shift in his companion's feelings and a flattered chuckle rumbled in his throat.

"Sasuke, don't worry," he said, suddenly alighting beside him on the bed. "Its not going to be me, I swear. In his vision, I was still around after this loved one died."

Sasuke's eyes fell shut and his shoulders loosened in relief but, doubt still plagued his head. Visions were unpredictable and erratic; at least that's what Sasuke knew from all the myths. Visions were never reliable. There could still be a chance that Haku was mistaken.

"Sasuke," Itachi said, squeezing his hand in reassurance. "It won't be me, I promise. It's your newly obtained friends that you need to worry about."

The worried Uchiha sent him a side-long glance, milling through his short list of "newly obtained friends." Lee, Hinata, Kiba, Choji…He really hadn't grown to close to them, not as close as they all were with each other. Would he care if any of them died? Absolutely; no matter what Naruto said, he was not heartless. Although he didn't know them, it tore Sasuke up to hear about the murders in Konoha. His heart-throbbed when he looked at the crime scene photos and he remembered the pity he felt when he watched Sakura die. The people he had succeeded in surrounding himself wit were so innocent and so lively. If any of their names were in the next headlines…

"He didn't see which one?" Sasuke asked, casting his line of sight ahead again, trying not to let mangled imaginings pepper his thoughts.

"Apparently not," Itachi said. "There's no way of knowing if anything he spoke was the truth."

"Why would they lie, especially at a time like this?"

Sasuke turned to his brother in visible distress. He would never understand if the Council kept secrets that could spare human lives. Itachi shook his head, not able to provide an answer.

"I've never trusted the Count," the elder Uchiha admitted.

That was enough to shake Sasuke's trust in the Council. He valued Itachi's opinion above anyone else's. If he thought at least one of the three Council members was dishonest, then there had to be a serious cause for concern. Sasuke groaned in distress and fell back onto the pillows with an unceremonious flop.

"How do we clean up this mess Itachi?" he asked, not expecting an answer. "What do we do?"

He was met with another short silence – as expected – and his black eyes pin-pointed to the ceiling again, searching for some sort of scar on the flawless surface that may have been over-looked during renovations. His vision was soon overrun with his brother's alabaster features. Itachi's hands sank into the pillows on either side of Sasuke's head and he planted a tender kiss on the younger's pale lips. Sasuke's eyes fluttered shut at the affectionate action and his own lips nudged back in response. Itachi pulled back to soon for Sasuke's tastes and a small whimper escaped his throat to protest.

"I don't know what you plan on doing," Itachi said and the younger could hear the smirk in his voice. "But, I plan on taking care of you and making sure you're safe."

A smile tugged Sasuke's mouth upwards and his lids slid up to look back at his brother's loving gaze. He sighed in content at the passionate warmth he found in those midnight fields and his arms lifted to link around Itachi's neck.

"I don't think we've been spending enough time together," Sasuke pointed out, gaze softening as one of the elder's hands trailed down his side.

"Oh?" Itachi said, blinking innocently as his other hand found a raven lock to wind around his finger. "Have I been neglecting you?"

"A little bit," the other murmured, wriggling beneath his lover to get more settled.

Itachi smirked and Sasuke recognized that glint in his eyes as they watched the shifting body below him.

"Would spending more time together help to clear your troubled thoughts?" the dark-haired man questioned, turning his craving gaze back up to Sasuke's face again.

"It might," said Uchiha hinted, his own fingers teasing through his companion's dark tresses as he glanced up at him through smoky lashes.

Childish laughter bubbled past his lips just before they were captured by a torrent of passionate kisses.

* * *

Naruto awoke with a gasp and a start. He bolted upright and yelped as pain raced up his leg. He hadn't remembered falling asleep, thus why he was so shocked to be startled into consciousness. After the hellish night he'd survived through, Naruto had vowed _not _to fall asleep for fear of a return assault. His alarm clock blared around the tarnished apartment. The loud sound that had penetrated his dreamless thoughts sent shockwaves through his weary bones.

With each obnoxious whine, the blond kept imagining his skull thwacking against the wall or the thunderous splintering of his kicked-in front door. Why was that thing even on? What day was it? Naruto shook his head, wincing at the discomfort the movement caused him. His bright blue eyes travelled to his bedside table. 11/14 7:00 AM was what the annoying little machine read. Yesterday was Friday…right? Right! It had been Friday the 13th; an unlucky day for the Uchiha bastards. A victorious smile cracked on the teen's chapped lips as he dragged his hand over the alarm's stop button.

When he was left in silence, Naruto fell back onto the bed sheets with a muffled thud. An exhausted sigh blew out of his lungs in a long gush and his gaze scanned the room around him. It was Saturday – _early _Saturday (in heat of the previous night's excitement, he had forgotten to kill the alarm). He had a little bit of damage control to cover, starting with assessing the damage done to his leg, then finding a way to fix his door, cleansing the area of any blood stains, and finally, training.

Today, he began his training with professional hunters (or, as close as he could get to "professionals"). Naruto glanced at his clock again. He had three hours before he had to meet the creepy twins. If his leg prevented him from getting to his first slaying lesson, there really wouldn't be any hope for Sasuke. The bed springs groaned with him as he sat up and carefully placed his legs over the edge of the bed. Tentatively, the blond pressed some of his weight down on his sore shin and instantly recoiled with a hiss. He couldn't tell what exactly was wrong with it but, he didn't believe it was totally broken. He wouldn't doubt it was a fracture. Great; if he put to much pressure on it, he'd be immobile for weeks!

He couldn't go to the hospital without being thoroughly questioned. Kakashi had been breathing down his neck enough as of late. If he got admitted _again_, he'd probably end up on house arrest "for his own safety." Very slowly, gripping the edge of the bedside table for support, Naruto struggled to his feet, carefully balancing his weight on his uninjured right side. Just as he began to stagger forward, another loud and annoying sound filled the small home. Grinding his teeth together in irritation, Naruto limped forward, out of his bedroom, and to the kitchen where the monotonous ringing of his telephone called him.

"Hello?" he gasped when he reached the phone, collapsing against the kitchen counter.

"Naruto! Thank God you're alright!"

"Kakashi? Yeah, of course I'm alright. What's up?"

Naruto mentally groaned in despair at the frantic sound of his friend's voice. How did Kakashi _always _know when something was up with him? Carefully, Naruto lowered himself into a kitchen chair, biting back his sounds of pain as he tried to get his leg in a more comfortable position.

"I'm sorry I didn't call sooner," Kakashi sighed and Naruto had to strain to hear him over a crackling sound beneath his voice (sounded like shifting papers). "I fell asleep in the middle of working last night and woke up finding three worried messages from your neighbors on my cell."

_Neighbors_; he had _neighbors_? Did he mean the drunken couple and the creepy old guy that talked to voices in his head? _Those _neighbors? Since when did they give a damn about what went on in his apartment? Apparently, since they heard gunshots and wolf-like snarling.

"Naruto, are you sure you're alright?" Kakashi asked again. "They said someone broke your door down. Were you attacked?"

Damn. _Goddamn_. Why did his alleged "neighbors" decide to care about his well-being last night of all nights? Did they see what happened? Were they watching the whole time? No, that couldn't be…

"I'm fine. No one broke in," the blond said slowly, trying to figure out a believable story to cover his tracks.

"They heard lots of noise, like guns being fired and screaming – "

A laugh barked out of Naruto's throat and he was met with confused silence on the other end of the phone.

"My neighbors must overreact," Naruto chuckled into the device. "I invited Shikamaru and Kiba over last night to play the new _Left for Dead _game. Kiba got here late and practically broke the door down in his excitement, and you know how intense it gets when the three of us get a new game to play."

He received more silence on the other end, leaving him to revel in how easily the lie had fallen past his lips. He had barely thought about it. Instinct kicked in to save him. Yet again, Naruto couldn't help but wonder: was that the way hunter's thought and responded to such situations?

"You were playing a video game," Kakashi repeated, as if he didn't understand.

"What else would I be doing?" Naruto continued along with his spouted lies. "Honestly Kakashi, why would anyone try to break into _my _apartment? I have nothing of value!"

Kakashi didn't say anything, and the blond worried that the man didn't believe him. He already suspected he wasn't telling him the whole truth about the night Sakura died. Guilt stabbed at Naruto's gut at how he was forced to lie to the detective. He constantly struggled with whether or not to admit his experiences to the police. If they _believed _him, would the human population be able to out-number the vampires?

"Naruto…" Kakashi spoke up again, a static-like noise (more papers) weaved into his weary voice. "…Are you _sure _you're alright? Ever since that night, you've been worrying me…"

"I promise, I'm okay," he persisted, sandwiching the phone between his head and shoulder so he could heave his leg up to rest on the chair. "Nothing's going to happen to me. I know how to take care of myself. I learned everything I know to survive from you, remember?"

The tired detective sighed, muffling any other sound coming through the mouthpiece.

"You can trust me, Naruto. You know that, don't you?"

There was a hint of a desperate pleading in his tone that speared at Naruto's heart, tugging at his will and making him long to confess everything. What a relief it would be to have one other person that knew what was going on…One other person that he could trust _entirely _through the deception he was currently wading through…

"I know," he replied to Kakashi's paternal words, struggling to prevent the guilt from resonating in his voice.

The detective sighed again and the teen could imagine him tugging at his gray tufts of hair when he heard the faint creaking of his seat from shifting his weight.

"I have to get back to work," said Kakashi, sounding wary of hanging up on the boy, like the second he did so, something bad would happen. "Please call me if anything is ever wrong."

Biting his lip, Naruto replied with a soft, "Of course," before hanging up. He gazed at the wireless house phone in his hand for a few guilty moments longer before settling it upon the kitchen table. The boy ran his hands through his yellow spikes of hair and released what seemed to be all his breath in his body. Things were getting complicated.

* * *

"You're limping."

"Excellent observation, brother."

Why did he bother? Naruto asked himself as he stood within the ancient bookstore again. If the twins were such esteemed and lethal hunters (as said by Huntress the last time he contacted her), then why were they acting like such oblivious fools?

"What did you do Spiky?" Sakon inquired, swiveling his head this way and that as he circled around Naruto, observing him carefully. "Trip on a ladybug?"

"Step in a rabbit hole?"

"Fall down the stairs?"

The two snickered to themselves as they thought up silly scenarios that may have caused his hurt leg. Naruto's face burned up at their mockery and he struggled to avoid pouncing on Sakon – he'd felt like prey to circling vultures enough lately.

"What did you do?" the two twins said at the same time, standing side by side and facing him again, identical smirks sneaking back at him.

"I got into a fight," Naruto said, vaguely, flaring at the broadening grins.

"Bar fight?"

"Street fight?"

"Catfight?"

"Dude fight?"

Naruto's face continued to flare red and his eye twitched with the effort it took him to hold back his hot retorts. Instead, he blurted out the truth, hoping to get some kind of awestruck expression of respect out of them instead of those stupid, condescending smiles.

"A leech attacked me!"

For a moment, it was like he had hit the pause button on the remote of life. The twins just stared at him, smirks still twisted on their faces. They stood so still that, Naruto was almost certain they were vampires themselves. It was like that for a while and the blond was considering running for his life (as fast as he could with a fractured shinbone). Had he shocked them with his revelation? Were they mad? Impressed?

"How big was it?" Ukon asked, drawing a huge blank in the teen's mind.

"Must have been one hell of a sucker – creepy little critters," Sakon chuckled.

Naruto wanted to tear the hair from his scalp. Why did everything have to be so damn _literal_ with these clowns? They were positively _infuriating_! And he was meant to learn from these creeps!

"Not the little slimy bug things!" he snapped at them. "I was attacked by a vampire – a _VAMPIRE_!"

It was so weird how they blinked in sync. It was like they were one individual; so bizarre.

"Why didn't you just say so?" they said, faces brightening in excitement.

"What did he do?" Sakon asked.

"Did he bite?" Ukon added.

"Did he kick?"

"Did he punch?"

"Did he claw?"

"Claw sounds like an accurate description," Naruto interrupted them with a begrudging mumble, recalling exactly how Sasuke lashed out.

"Why would you provoke a vamp?" one of the twins asked, scratching the back of his gray head.

"That was awfully dumb of you," the other snorted.

"He broke into my apartment!" Naruto blasted back. "What else was I supposed to do but fight?"

"_Run_."

Naruto gulped at the sudden seriousness that drenched the twins' demeanors. They gazed at him with strict insistence that looked foreign on their childish, teasing faces.

"You're not experienced enough to be fighting vamps yet," Sakon said in utmost seriousness.

"You barely know how to hold your slayer," Ukon added with the same, stern tone of voice.

"What are you talking about?" the teen interjected, withdrawing the weapon in question from within his jacket. "It's _a gun_. There's no talent behind holding it!"

The twins glared at him with silent disregard. They looked insulted by his words and he suddenly felt disheartened, being before them.

"Aim it," the brothers demanded of him, into the dusty silence.

The blond blinked once and shrugged it off. The task sounded simple enough. It really took nothing to aim a gun. Just lift, hand on the trigger, and –

"Wrong!"

Naruto flinched back at the loud, combined voices before he was swept in a blur of frantic gray and black.

"Don't hold it that way!"

"Set your feet apart."

"Don't hold it so high."

"Loosen your shoulders."

"Move your fingers over here."

"Stop shaking!"

Do this and that and that and this. Naruto was jostled around and his limbs were forcibly nudged into the "proper position." The twins stepped back after a few seconds and carefully inspected him through their fingers, shaping them into "L"s and turning them into squares, peering at him through invisible frames.

"Better," they agreed, nodding in unison but, still seemed uncertain of him.

"That was ridiculous," Naruto said, glaring at the twins in distaste, as he stood straight from the position they'd put him in, gun raised and legs spread apart.

"That's how hunters do it," Sakon said, dropping his hands and smiling coyly at him.

The tinkling of the book shop bell was agitated into existence by a rough push of the glass front door and a familiar, brusque voice filled the small area.

"Do you two not know the meaning of hygiene?" Tayuya coughed, her entrance stirring up the copious layers of dust sheeted around the room. "Invest in a feather duster, would ya?"

"It's a strategic movement," Sakon argued without missing a beat. "Less people want to intrude on a gross looking place. You have to have mental issues not to know that."

"You're the ones that have mental problems," she growled. "Why haven't you taken him downstairs yet? You don't train a trigger happy know-it-all in the art of gun-wielding in such a suffocating cubicle like this."

She jerked her head at Naruto – acknowledging his existence for the first time – as she mentioned "bringing him downstairs." The twins both shrugged and it wasn't the first time Naruto had felt like a third wheel among the hunters.

"We received no instructions from Huntress that we should trust him enough to bring him down," Sakon said.

"You're kidding me, right?" Tayuya snorted in disbelief. "Huntress told you to train him. It's implied that doing so allows him access to the facilities."

"_Implying_ isn't the same as specifically being given permission," Sakon argued right back, smoothly.

Tayuya glared at him for daring to defy her and Naruto was afraid she might put a bullet in the twin's head as well.

"Why are you _here _Tayuya?" Sakon asked before she could spit a curse at him – which everyone was sure was brewing through her silence. "I thought you were tracking a leech in China."

(_Now _he knew what a "leech" was).

"I was passing through here undercover when Huntress gave me orders to prove our existence to the kid. I was just on my way out of the country when I got a call saying I need to stay put. Kidomaru will wrap up the mission while I'm here."

"She pulled you out of your hunt?" Ukon asked in shock from beside Naruto.

"She never does that!" Sakon went on in equal confusion.

"Things are getting out of hand around here," the woman replied with a shrug. "At least that's what Huntress thinks. A few other hunters are being dispatched here as well. After last night's stirrings, Huntress is taking the problems in this town much more seriously."

Tayuya's dark tawny gaze whipped to rest on Naruto and the twins' eyes soon followed. The boy had remained uncharacteristically quiet – at least to the three of them. He had been silently absorbing all their chatter, trying to understand what he was hearing. He was still stuck on what Tayuya had said: "_A few other hunters are being dispatched here as well_."

"Huntress tells me you grappled with…the _Uchihas_?" the red-head went on, brows wrinkling together as she tried to remember the name.

Naruto nodded, starting to wonder if anything he typed to Huntress would ever remain between the two of them. After getting off the phone that morning, Naruto had stumbled about reorganizing his apartment. He had agonized through digging out the blood stains on his carpets and had disguised his half unhinged door as perfectly fine to the best of his abilities. Then, he had reported to Huntress, something he'd been making a habit of doing after each contact with the immortals. She hadn't congratulated him on staying alive – not that he was really expecting her too. She had criticized him mostly; the twins had echoed her words before. Was he going to get the same lecture from Miss Fire-Breathing Dragon now? He _really _didn't have the energy for that. She must have noticed because she surprised him by not digging for more details on the dramatic confrontation.

"What did you break?" she asked, glancing over him in search for his ailment.

Naruto was tentative in answering, glancing at the twins and expecting those snickers at his "incompetence" again, but Sakon seemed deep in thought about something and Ukon was distracted with a shiny chain dangling off the shoulder of his jacket.

"My shinbone might be fractured," he murmured. "That's all."

"Why haven't you two treated that?" Tayuya barked at the twins, automatically.

"We were getting to that!" they defended, indignantly.

"God, it _is _a good thing Huntress assigned me here," she growled, shaking her head. "Come on kid, time to take you downstairs and get you fixed."

Before he had a chance to argue – not that he wanted to – Tayuya was gripping him by the forearm and jerking him around the desk-thing. He hopped after her, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out. The twins went about closing up the book shop, locking the door and dragging yellowed shades down over the glass. There was a broad, complicated-looking latch preventing the door behind the desk from being opened but, Tayuya swiftly worked through it, pulling it back and forth in what Naruto assumed was a secret pattern for hunters _only_, to gain access to whatever was beyond. There was a click and the heavy door fell away from them, opening up to a long staircase descending into shadows.

_Oh great_, Naruto thought in distress when he noticed there were no handrails for him to lean on. _This could prove to be difficult_.

When the twins pushed the door closed as they began to descend, the only light available to help guide them through the darkness came from far below; "downstairs," Naruto presumed. Tayuya grudgingly lent him some support on the long trip down and by the impatience emanating from the men close behind him he knew he was only making the walk longer than it had to be.

_Damn you, Sasuke._

After the treacherous journey underground, the senior hunters lead him into a small room with stark walls and various metal cabinets. It smelled of garlic, wolfsbane, and a multitude of other herbs. Naruto knew before they told him that this was a hunter's first aid center.

"Go set up some targets you two, and I'll fix up the injury," Tayuya said to her comrades, sounding less than enthusiastic about being on nurse duty.

"Yes _ma'am_," they both said, giving her a terse salute that made her left brow twitch in an insulted tantrum.

The identical brothers flounced across the short chamber to another door; this one had a more advanced, digital lock and Naruto was eager to see how this one opened but, his "nurse" plopped him in a steel chair and barricaded his view.

"Roll up your pants," she said bluntly, reaching above them into one of the cabinets.

He did as he was told, cautious of her after their dual rough encounters (the one at school and the one just then in the book shop). Folding up the dark jeans revealed an even darker bruising around the afflicted area. It looked worse than it actually felt, Naruto thought, grimacing at the bluish-green coloration. He was starting to grow numb to the pain after the hell he'd put his leg through. He didn't see how anything Tayuya gave him would make it any better. Still, it seemed she'd found something she was sure would do the trick.

"What is that?" he hesitated in asking when she popped off the lid of a glass jar containing a gooey green substance.

"Frog spit, dog drool, onion peels, and orange zest," she answered with an unconcerned shrug as she kneeled down in front of him.

"…Please tell me you're joking," Naruto begged, feeling himself turn as green as the bile in her hand.

Tiger-pelt eyes flashed up at him with the same reproach she seemed to offer to everyone around her, making him regret ever opening his mouth.

"Hunting never jokes," she snarled, resulting in him flinching back like she had just bitten him.

"Alright, alright, sorry," the young hunter quickly apologized, continuing to eye the concocting like it was a disease. "How is something like that going to help more than a cast?"

Tayuya didn't grace him with a response, instead slapping the foul stuff onto his bruise. His stomach bucked at the stench and the feel of it on his skin. He shuddered in discomfort and turned his head elsewhere as if not looking at it would make it less retched. His blue eyes came to rest on the other door the twins had gone through.

"How many new hunters are being sent here?" he asked, figuring she had no reason to snap at him for curiosity.

"Three of the best," she answered, continuing to apply the "medicine" until it masked his shin completely.

"Seven will be enough?"

"Against two? There's no way they stand a chance from what Huntress has told me about them."

"What did Huntress tell you?"

"The Uchiha brothers are still young for vamps. Three hundred years makes them toddlers in comparison to some I've taken down. They have a clean slate as far back as we can track. The only trouble they've gotten into involved the turning."

"Turning?" Naruto questioned, looking back down at her again.

"You have a lot to learn about leeches, kid," she laughed, her earlier aggression replaced with a kidding disposition – at least for now. "You're not _born _immortal. It's impossible."

"So…_every _vampire was turned that way by another?"

Tayuya nodded, finishing up with the application of her salve and rising back to her feet to return the jar to the cupboard.

"Vampires have been around almost as long as we have, if you can believe it."

Naruto let that sink in as the disgusting remedy settled over his injury. Every day, he learned something new about the demons he was so desperate to destroy; with every new fact, the task became all the more stifling.

"You said…seven would be enough…" Naruto started, interrupted though, by a jab to irresistible for Tayuya to pass up.

"Six and a half, since you're still a runt," she said with a smirk and he glared at her for it.

"I think there are more vampires in Konoha than just the Uchihas," he went on, unsure of what kind of reaction he expected – certainly not what she complied with.

"We know."

Her lukewarm composure daunted him and he gaped at her, unintelligibly.

"This isn't the first time hunters have been requested in Konoha," the woman explained, leaning against the counter, nonchalantly. "This town has housed vampires since the day it was built – hell, the founder could have been a leech himself. We don't know."

"…Well…What can we do?" Naruto floundered, mind reeling in confusion at her evident lack of concern.

"Nothing," she said, staring at him like his questions were of ignorance. "If you thought being a hunter meant your goal was to wipe out the entire vamp population, then welcome to your rude awakening squirt."

No, that wasn't what he'd been expecting, stepping into the hunters' duties. He just wanted to make his home café again. He knew it was impossible to wipe out every single threat but, after suspecting Dosu of being in league with the deceptive duo, Naruto didn't think seven hunters – no matter how skilled – were going to cut it. What if the Uchihas fought back with numbers of their own; _greater _numbers?

"We need an army."

The words whispered into existence before they were even made clear in his mind. At first, he hoped Tayuya hadn't heard him – she would think he was deranged – but, he wasn't so fortunate.

"Did I give you the right potion? You're talking like you inhaled some noxious purple hippo toe fumes."

If he wasn't so excited about his new idea, he would have dropped a WTF on her in a heartbeat.

"Think about it," he started, feeling hopeful. "The Uchihas aren't going to go down without a fight. After all my experiences with them, I just _know _they can't be slain quickly and quietly. We're going to have to confront them with lots of firepower and they'll have plenty to counter us with."

"We can't call more hunters here," Tayuya sighed, shaking her head, already refusing his plan. "Six veterans are already over-doing it."

"We don't need 'veterans,'" Naruto rebuked, a grin breaking across his face. "We need fresh blood; train _new _hunters!"

"Fresh blood huh?" Tayuya repeated, seeming to ponder the idea. "Fresh blood for the leeches, maybe."

She finished with a disdainful snort and the teenager's spirits fell with her rejection. Damnit, she was right! Wasn't the whole point of him facing the murderers on his own, so that no one else would get hurt? Well…if he helped people to learn how to defend themselves, then wouldn't even less people get hurt?  
"There has to be _someone_ else that would try it," he mused, trying to convince himself that the older hunter was wrong.

"Here's a big dent in your plan, genius," Tayuya pointed out, blowing boredly at a few out-of-place red strands of hair tickling her face. "People don't believe in this stuff anymore. If you go broadcasting about the hunter craft, what's stopping you from ending up in the loony bin?"

"I know!" he snapped, glaring at her again. "If I hadn't thought of that possibility I would have told someone about the vamps weeks ago."

Naruto looked down at the hard ground, thinking about his friends. Could he ask them to join his fight? Could he _trust _them? His uncertainty in regards to his surrounding townspeople was making him begin to doubt the people he'd known all his life. Even if his friends weren't horrible creatures of the night – he knew they weren't; they _aged_ – he had no way of knowing if any of them were trapped by the spells of a vampire's presence always weaved.

"I hate this," he mumbled, leaning his elbows on his knees and pulling at his yellow hair.

"Too late to back out now, kid," Tayuya huffed, pushing off of the counter at the sound of creaking from the door the twins had departed through.

"Ready!" unified voices called from the other door.

"Up and at 'em newbie," Tayuya commanded, gesturing for him to rise and follow as she parted over to her comrades.

It took a few steady steps until Naruto noticed that he was no longer in any pain. He stopped halfway across the little medical center and weighed down on his previously agonizing leg. No pain.

"No way!" he exclaimed in fascination. "That's amazing! How is this possible?"

"If people can live for a hundred years, why _wouldn't _it be possible to fix a little crack in the bone?" Tayuya disputed, clearly getting fed up with all his wide-eyed wonderment.

Grinning from ear to ear at how effortlessly he had been mended – despite the warnings that he still had to be mindful for a few days – the exultant teenager trotted after the temperamental woman and into the mysterious "downstairs" room. It turned out this "room" was _much _more than just that. When Naruto stepped past the awaiting twins, he entered a long and wide, flat plane that could probably enclose two football fields. Bizarre obstacles and unique targets were spread off into organized sections all around him. A few more metal doors were carved into the out-skirting stone walls, all appearing heavy and intimidating, like they were meant to keep things protected within.

_Weapons_? Naruto wondered, silently.

"Let's get started!" Tayuya announced, clapping her hands together and smirking with cat-like mischievousness. "Let a _real _badass, vamp-slayer show you how it's done squirt."

"Hey!" the two twins protested with child-like pouts for added emphasis.

Like a cub first learning how to kill, Naruto followed after his sharp-tongued tutor and as he passed by each target, he could imagine other young faces, training alongside him.

* * *

_They will not force us / They will stop degrading us / They will not control us / We will be victorious_


	17. CHAPTER 16 Witchcraft

**~Chapter XVI~**

_~Witchcraft~_

* * *

_It's in your eyes / A color fade out / Looks like a new transition / It's starting up and shaking your ground / Turning your head to see a new day calling_

* * *

The weekend was a welcome escape from Sasuke's awfully "unlucky" night. After his recuperation, Sasuke had been able to laugh at the irony of his recent situation – he would never take Friday the 13th for granted again. He was feeling back to his unbreakable self again and after Itachi's revelation of Haku's vision, a more urgent need to unravel the truth had begun to fuel Sasuke. After spending some much needed "quality time" with his eternal that morning, Sasuke had placed himself in full investigation mode. The broad and glamorous bedroom had been adorned with all the necessary essentials for piecing together information. As freakishly resourceful as ever, Itachi had obtained a long whiteboard to make timelines and had distributed a large bundle of paper copies regarding the victims and suspects from police records, to his attentive companion.

"I'd ask how but, do I really need to?" Sasuke trilled, accepting the assortment of folders and files into his own arms.

"No, you absolutely do not have to ask," Itachi replied, smiling in pride at his achievements.

"Do I need to worry about the front door getting smashed in? We just fixed the staircase."

"Why must you doubt me so?" Itachi sighed, falling down beside his little brother on the bed.

"I don't doubt; I worry," Sasuke laughed, flipping through the papers while he waited for his laptop to power on.

"What's there to worry about?" the elder countered, reaching across the pillows to fondle some raven locks. "I'm careful."

"I know you are," the younger agreed, analyzing eyes never leaving his paper perusal.

Itachi pouted at his lover's unresponsive dismissal and attempted another approach by nudging his knee with his.

"These aren't for sitting by and collecting dust," Sasuke reacted, waving the stolen files in his face. "Its not play time Itachi. We have work to do; unless you don't want to participate?"

"It's not that," Itachi said indignantly, at the observant and slightly accusatory gaze that now faced him. "Just because we have to work, doesn't mean we can't have fun."

"Knowing you, 'having fun' means we won't get anything done," Sasuke grumbled in impatience.

"You're adorable when you rhyme," Itachi sighed dreamily, smoothly capturing his beloved in his arms and re-depositing him in his lap.

Sasuke mumbled something incoherent as he wrested for a better position lying against his persistent brother. He readjusted himself so they could both see the inked leaves, Itachi's arms around his waste and Sasuke's head more near his neck.

"I hate rhyming by the way," Sasuke pointed out, nestling a little more comfortably into his companion.

"I know. It's still cute though," Itachi opposed, smoothing Sasuke's silky hair and petting him like a cat.

Sasuke rolled his eyes but, did not complain about the touches. Instead, he refocused on the files, trying to drag Itachi's attention there as well.

"Okay, so what do we know? We know we have four human victims of a more than likely immortal serial killer."

"We think we know that one of the four victims was not killed by said serial killer," Itachi supplied, reaching the hand that wasn't distracted with Sasuke's hair up to point at a picture of Hisame in one of the files.

"Right," Sasuke went on, addressing his attention to the most recent murder victims. "We believe the Garden House murder was carried out by a new accomplice, suspected to be Abumi Zaku due to his prolonged absence. Shizune didn't call did she?"

Sasuke tilted his head to look up at Itachi, waiting for a response. After the chaotic day, Sasuke had almost forgotten that the Countess's assistant had scoured the Gardens crime scene for any traces left by the reckless newcomer.

"I didn't receive word from her, no," Itachi answered. "I suspect the Council was a bit preoccupied after the Oracle's vision."

"That's right…" Sasuke agreed, staring back at the pages before him as he recalled his brother's reluctant explanation earlier in the morning.

"Anyway," Itachi interjected, noticing his lover's relapse into fretting over the future again. "What else do we know?"

"Close to nothing," the fretful brother admitted, switching back to the present. "Whoever this madman is, he's talented at remaining elusive."

"He doesn't deserve praise so, shush," the older of the two reprimanded. "Now, we look for a connection between the victims."

"I don't think we'll find any. They're just random people unfortunate to be roaming around after dark."

"No harm in trying."

The two went about examining the drawn-up profiles of each victim. Their eyes flickered past each printed letter at the lightning speed in which strobe lights blink. They put to memory each provided detail of the four mortals' mundane existences. Tenten had been in her final year of a private high school. Her mother was deceased under no suspicious circumstances and the girl had lived with her father, who owned a game hunting shop. The selling of guns was a red flag to Sasuke at first but, then he remembered she was murdered by one of _his _kind. The weapon factor was automatically crossed off his list of things to think of further. The first victim to the massacre was a waste of talent, Sasuke learned. She was involved in her community and enthusiastic about her education. She would have gone far.

The second victim he thought he knew enough about. Haruno Sakura was not a girl he would ever expect great things from, especially not after all their awkward encounters – awkward for him at least. He did feel piteous, though, as he swept through her personal file. Her name was no stranger to police records. Her father got in trouble for disturbing the peace various times and it appeared that her mother was heavy into drugs. Sakura herself had records for psychiatric help in regards to a sex addiction. Regardless of his low opinion of the girl, Sasuke didn't believe she deserved to die so soon. There were plenty of things about her that could bring out plenty of malicious intent and a long list of suspects for the cops…_if _this was a _normal _investigation. None of her issues screamed supernatural.

The Uchiha highlighted her death in his head, being as it was the night Naruto was woven into the dangerous game and the night he himself had seen the killer. The next two kills also had no otherworldly bells. Shigure was simply a bank teller that lived alone with no family. Hisame was an employee at Konoha Gardens and lived with her fiancée. Sasuke didn't find the fact that she worked at her death site very relevant. If she had been killed by Zaku, it was easy for him; that was all. The original killer had probably instructed him to leave a body at the Gardens and the woman was caught locking up. Sasuke hoped Shizune had been able to find something that would help track down Zaku. Everything about Hisame's murder indicated that the newbie was working under direct orders from the mystery killer; this made Zaku the key to catching the perpetrator.

"You didn't happen to dig up any missing persons files on Mr. Abumi, did you?" Sasuke teased his brother, fingering past the murder information hopefully.

"See? You do doubt me," Itachi whined, reaching back into the bunch of papers to a designated spot where he withdrew the requested copy.

Sasuke smirked at his brother's preparedness and snatched the sought after papers from his grasp before he could dangle them above his head and make him beg for it.

"Zaku is the one we have to find if we want these murders to stop," the raven-haired Uchiha informed the other. "I know how to find out more about him."

"Our focus is on a fang-happy, teenage asshole? What happened to your theory of there being a message to us specifically?"

"That's where you come in!"

Sasuke glided out of his love's embrace and came to sit, cross-legged, in front of his laptop by Itachi's knees.

"While I figure out what happened to Zaku, you try and recall anyone from our past that might wish us ill."

"That's a lot of recalling," Itachi groaned, placing his arms behind his head and weighing down in the mattress, lazily.

"If I'm wrong and the murders corresponding with our arrival are a coincidence like you say, then you won't have so much remembering to do."

"Fine, fair enough."

A smirk of victory vaulted Sasuke's ivory lips as he pounded away in the cyber-verse, scouring police records for any other info on Zaku vanishing. The mansion remained silent whilst the two brothers researched their assigned aspects; the silence made the ancient, Victorian style even more haunting and vacant. The crisp, November air flooded in the bedroom from the wide open glass doors wrapping around the back. Saturday sun blinked past the sheet of foreboding clouds overhanging Konoha. It was a perfect day to sleuth and Sasuke's mood continued to rise in happiness as he uncovered more fragments of the truth from Zaku's last night in the mortal universe.

According to the last statement by the boy's guardians and all his other personal contacts, the last night he had been seen was three days after All Hallows Eve. This was the same night Sasuke had witnessed Sakura's death. He faltered in his tapping at this revelation, eyes flicking between the date on the screen and the girl's file, peering out from the paper pile on the bed. It took only a fraction of a second for the Uchiha to be daunted by the match before he began breezing through cyber space. However, that fraction of a second could not escape the keen ears of his unmoving brother. Itachi's eyes melted open from their closed, recollecting position and they came to rest on Sasuke until he shared with him whatever had made him pause.

"Zaku went missing the same night Sakura died," Sasuke quickly briefed him, eyes continuing to dance with the fast-moving files.

There came a touch of silence aside from the excessive typing resounding around the room. The heavily at work Uchiha didn't glance away from his tango with private data as Itachi came to sit up behind him like a recently materialized phantom.

"I've noticed a possible pattern," his deep voice said from above him as his frosty arms came to rest over Sasuke's shoulders. "I think the killer has a fetish for sets of three."

Sasuke came to a halt altogether, fingers suspended in mid-type as he awaited clarification. A smile tugged at Itachi's mouth at finally succeeding to capture his brother's attention. Breezily, he abandoned the bed without disrupting any sheet wrinkle or spring. Five paper profiles followed in his arms as he transported himself to the whiteboard he'd "borrowed" from his chemistry teacher.

"Miss Tenten was the first to die and her 'positioning' contained the most impact for everyone and most importantly got _our _attention – if your theory is true that is."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as the elder posted Tenten's pictures and personal information on the whiteboard. He taped her profile into the top left hand corner and placed her crime scene photo underneath. "Oct. 31" appeared over the paper in black marker with a swipe of Itachi's hand.

"Three days later, Miss Haruno was killed and we've recently discerned that Mr. Abumi also went 'missing.'"

Sakura's and Zaku's profiles were placed directly beside one another – a short space away from Tenten's – and Sakura's crime scene photos were grouped beneath her profile. "Nov. 3" was scrawled over the two.

"Then," Itachi continued, "six days after that, Mr. Shigure and Miss Hisame were killed."

The analytical revenant set the last two victims on the board with the same neatness as the rest and left "Nov. 9" over them. Sasuke's eyes roved over the short timeline and he instantly spotted what his companion wanted to show him about "three."

"Although I'm not sure what the significance is, the killer is very adamant about leaving his three cuts on every body," Itachi said, sitting on the edge of the bed to survey his set-up on the whiteboard. "After his first kill, I believe he deliberately waited three days until his next. He's trying to make the number significant. After her killed Sakura, he waited six days – my guess being because six is a multiple of three. But, that's where I get screwed up."

By this time, Sasuke had broken away from the digital images to sit parallel to his lover. He stared at the bloody faces in the photos opposite him, trying to slip into the demented mindset Itachi was slowly coming to understand.

"If I was the killer," he persisted. "I would strive for consistency as well as impact. When looked at deep enough, it's clear he wants us to notice _three_. So, why throw in six? My hypothesis is that Mr. Abumi was never a part of the plan. Our serial started this massacre to kill and send a message. Gaining an accomplice wasn't on his agenda. I think encountering Zaku the night of Sakura's murder set him back, thus the six days before the Double Murders. If you take Zaku out of the equation" – he dashed to the board and removed said profile – "then the extra three days would be subtracted, in addition to Hisame as a victim."

He pulled down Hisame's pictures and info and changed "Nov. 9" to "Nov. 6," and briefly concluded this part of his discovery with, "If we were dealing with one killer – as originally expected – that would be how he killed: One victim each three days."

Quiet swelled around them; the entire house appeared to be stunned by the man's in-depth observations. Sasuke beheld the unearthed, original pattern for a few more impressed moments before tweaking his bewildered expression to rest on Itachi.

"How did you do that?" he asked in astonishment.

"Its nothing helpful," Itachi responded, glancing down at the removed puzzle pieces. "It was just a thought."

Sasuke broke into laughter at the modesty and a rather prideful grin spread over Itachi's ashen face. He was in love with a genius; Sasuke had almost forgotten. When he wasn't mischievously affectionate – which he was _a lot_ – Itachi had a brilliant mind with centuries of knowledge at his disposal. He was a magician with puzzles and an artist at deciphering meanings. Sasuke leaned over and gave him a grateful kiss on the cheek.

"So, does that mean you believe me now?" he whispered in his ear afterwards, smiling against his skin.

"It wouldn't make sense if it didn't," Itachi sighed. "Besides, I'm a little old to believe in coincidences."

Sasuke's raised lips remained in admiring delight as Itachi went about detailing his timeline, outlining the hypothesized original kills in red and the re-defined ones in black.

"So what does the number three mean?" Sasuke inquired as his brother finished organizing his data.

"That's what we're going to find out," replied the other, scribbling "3?" under his timeline and circling it in red.

* * *

A relieved sigh shuddered Naruto's fatigued body as he exited the book shop late that afternoon. The frigid air was received upon sweat glistening skin. Naruto stretched his bare arms above him, his dark orange coat dangling around his waist. His first day of training had been brutal. He hadn't expected it to be easy but, he never thought he'd be so sore afterwards.

On the bright side, his leg was totally unaffected. That salve Tayuya had given him had worked miracles on his injury; so much so, he was convinced it was magic – which wasn't so outlandish after all he'd seen. His trainers had drilled him in basic boot camp style, sending him through tire fields, over walls, and off of ledges. He didn't do much battle practice but, he understood the purpose of today's exercises.

They wanted to get him fit; test his speed and stamina. Even with a slayer, he would be nothing against a rampaging vampire if he didn't have the physical attributes needed to react. Past all their taunting and shouting, Naruto had a feeling he'd met Tayuya's and the twins' expectations that round. He took care of himself and he'd gotten straight A's in physical education since kindergarten. Today's obstacles had been nothing but, he knew better than to think that was all there was to this training. The obstacles would grow more and more difficult until he was groomed to slaying perfection.

Feeling like he'd accomplished a great achievement, the blond turned to go home, making sure his silver weapon on his belt was veiled beneath his coat. He took a step up the sidewalk but, faltered when he recognized someone approaching from up ahead. His fair brows knit together in confusion; someone like him would never be caught dead in this part of town. It was Hyuga Neji: one of his least favorite people, his friend's cousin, and someone directly impacted by the murders. When Neji looked up and saw him, shock fluttered across his usually stoic face.

"Naruto?" he questioned when he was in speaking distance. "What are you doing here?"

Naruto's usual response would be something along the lines of "What's it to ya" but, when he detected no hostility in the older boy's voice, he didn't see a reason to start. Besides, he had been through a lot. Naruto would never forget the day he'd walked into the cemetery for Sakura's funeral and how he'd seen the emotionless Hyuga Neji doubled over in tears by Tenten's grave. Plus, Lee adored him almost as much as Sasuke – he quickly shook that face out of his head. He put on his new fake smile that he was growing so comfortable to and started telling his cover story he'd planned before leaving training.

"I was just looking for a book for school," he said. "My teacher recommended this used bookstore since it's an old print and none of the new chain stores have it."

There was a pause where the silver-eyed boy just stared at him, like he was reading past his rouse. It was soon proven that he was and his sudden questioning that followed, startled Naruto.

"It's an awfully long way from where you live to come here for one book," he said, glancing at the store like…he knew?

Naruto's blue eyes narrowed as he observed the individual before him. Although he did well to hide it, Naruto recognized signs of restlessness and tire on Neji's person. His impassive gaze was slightly bloodshot and glassy and Naruto's first prognosis was that it was from tears of mourning. Upon further inspection, though, Naruto recognized the glassiness to be more from sleepless nights than anything else. He also noticed that the Hyuga wasn't holding himself with his standard pride and arrogance. His shoulders were slumped down and his long hair hung in his face a little bit, sagging from its tie. He almost looked…like him, before he discovered Huntress…

"My teacher recommended this shop, specifically," the amateur hunter said again, watching the other with a heightened level of suspicion.

"Why are you so sweaty? You look like you've been running for miles," Neji said over his last word, eyes on the "closed" bookshop.

"I was at the gym before I was here," Naruto retorted, not comprehending why the mistrust in his voice. "Since when are you so curious about how I spend my day?"

"Since I found you in front of _this _place."

Neji's gaze whipped back to look at Naruto and an intense passion and desperation broke past the hazy weariness in his eyes. Naruto tried to keep cool despite his racing heart. He could see it all about him. This person was almost _too _familiar. Neji, he…

"What are _you _doing here, Hyuga?" Naruto asked, his attempt at casual, friendly explanation washing away into dark seriousness.

The two boys scrutinized each other in silence. It registered to both of them in that cold, devoted stare why each of them was there. Naruto's heart continued to thrum in his chest in thrill, just as it had when he'd been talking to Tayuya earlier.

"I was told," Neji spoke up with his strong, articulate way of speaking, "that if I wanted answers, and if I wanted revenge, this was the place I should go to."

"You want revenge against the thing that killed Tenten," Naruto realized.

"And you want to avenge Haruno Sakura, correct?"

A pinch of guilt always whizzed through him at the mention of her name but, his eagerness to get the spoken word from the other boy stopped him from pausing to address her passing in silence.

"You've met Huntress."

He didn't need to portray it as a question. It had become abundantly clear long before in the conversation. The tension was sucked out of the air like a funnel cloud had just passed through. All the wariness left the two of them at the mutual understanding of why they were each there. The backpack that had been slung over Neji's shoulder slipped down and he unzipped the top to reveal the contents to the likewise vengeful soul. Peering in, Naruto found that the stern boy was already armed with a collection of crucifixes, Ziploc bags of garlic, and a plethora of dusty tomes packed with informative lore.

"She told you to come here. You're here to learn," Naruto said, looking upon his former punching bag for immaturity with a new respect.

"As are you, I presume?"

An uncontrolled smile stretched out across the blonde's face as his hand came up to clasp one of Neji's.

"Welcome to the Hunters."

Relief and hope flooded over the brunette's expression and an undoubting fervor entered his gaze. A new determination also replaced Naruto's tension. This was how it began. This was how he would start building an army. His war against the Uchihas and murderous vampires alike was finally falling together.

* * *

_Does it feel like I had to lean on / A snapshot from where you were born / I'm looking for your hand in the rough / You're caught in the wire / Will I lift you up_


	18. CHAPTER 17 I Don't Care

~**Chapter XVII**~

~_I Don't Care_~

* * *

_I try to make it through my life / In my way there's you / I try to make it through these lies / And that's all I do / Just don't deny it / Don't try to fight this and deal with it / And it's just part of it_

* * *

"_Why? Why did you let this happen to me?"_

_He was crying. He could still do that? They burned more than they used to – the tears. They were scalding against his skin, like molten lava. Why did it hurt so much? Why did this happen?_

"_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."_

"_You said you loved me!"_

"_I do! I do love you. I'll always love you."_

_He was crying too. He had never seen him cry before. He must have meant it then. He had to…_

"_Why did you let this happen?" he repeated, his sobs ripping him apart inside. "Why didn't you protect me?"_

"_I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry."_

_He kissed him again. There was blood on his lips._

"Sasuke."

At the sound of his name, the aforementioned glided away from his troubled dreams, dark eyes rising open like midnight suns. For an instance, he thought his name had been whispered by the phantoms in his mind. The room remained in eerie silence; the air coming from the balcony was still that morning – odd for November. He remained stone-like in the safety and comfort of the bed covers, listening to and watching nothing. A feather-light caress floated down his arm, finally alerting him to the fact that the voice had spoken in his reality instead of his nightmare. His own fingers danced up to clasp the hand on his bare skin, seeking refuge in the familiar touch.

"You were tense. Is everything okay?"

Soothing warmth resonated over his reeling mind at the sound of his close voice, woven with concerned anxiety.

"Just a dream, I guess," he responded, softly.

"You guess? What do you mean?"

"…I don't know."

Truth be told, he had no idea. It wasn't very often Sasuke had involuntary dreams. He could shut off nightmares if he so desired – and he _always _desired. He didn't understand how this one slipped into his consciousness.

"Tell me about it," Itachi said from behind him, hugging him closer and seeking to share in his troubles. "I can feel its upset you."

He didn't feel upset per se; just confused. It had felt more like something tangible and real than a figment in a nightmare; like it had already happened. Yet, Sasuke didn't recognize it. He knew the voices – his and Itachi's – but, he did not know the moment – it had to be spawned from his imagination. He had never shared any painful moments with his lover and especially nothing as agonizing as that. He couldn't decipher its meaning. What had caused such a heart-wrenching scene for their dream-selves?

"Was it about the murders?" Itachi asked, growing more worried as Sasuke did not answer him.

"I'm not sure," he replied, thinking hard into finding some symbol in the dream – all dreams had a meaning.

Itachi didn't further press him immediately, leaving the room muted for a few peaceful moments. Sasuke stared into the dark dimness of the bedroom – it was very early morning; he estimated 2:00 AM. As he allowed the calm silence to envelope him, Sasuke was reminded of the prior day's discoveries and asked himself: Should he really begin fretting over a dream? It was just that: a dream. It could do no harm. So what if it felt real? A lot of them did. The depth of the analyzing had exhausted his ability to filter what entered his mind's eye in slumber. That was all.

"It was nothing," he spoke up to Itachi, who was silently condensing into a building of more stress. "It's the constant murdering getting to me."

"Are you sure? Why don't you want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Sasuke informed him, gently.

He melted around like water around a river rock to face Itachi, hands flat against his broad chest as he craned his neck up to find bliss in those onyx lakes.

"I'm fine now. I was just startled by it, is all."

"You must be avoiding talking about it for a reason," Itachi insisted, fingers pouring through silken bangs.

"It was a little disturbing but, it doesn't mean anything."

"Tell me about it. Please. I hate it when you don't tell me things. You know that."

"I do," Sasuke agreed, his milky hands sliding up the dark fabric of the other's shirt, twining around mahogany strands of hair, loose against his sculpted neck. "I don't really know what was happening but, the two of us were distraught over something. That was really all there was to it. See? It was nothing; just a dream."

Itachi's face softened at his reassurances – and his serene touches. His arm resting around Sasuke's slender waist tightened slightly and his hand alighted upon the small of his back, urging him intimately closer.

"If this investigation is starting to get to you then, maybe we should stop."

"Don't be ridiculous," Sasuke chortled. "There's no way I'm giving up on this. If something was wrong with me Itachi, you know you'd be the first to know. I tell you everything."

There was yet another breath of quiet as the elder Uchiha studied his dearest brother. Sasuke watched guilt at doubting his trust, transform his gaze and he automatically laid a chaste kiss upon his unsuspecting lips.

"Everything's all right," he whispered as gently as a descending snowflake. "Don't think anything more of it. For now, let's just go back to sleep and dream of something pleasant until the sun rises."

"Alright," Itachi surrendered, leaning over to give him a return kiss to seal the agreement. "If that's what you want."

"It'll be better for the both of us to just drown this out with happy dreams, and start afresh in our investigation later."

"That sounds very liberating," Itachi chuckled, edging away from his careful examination of the other's status.

Sasuke smiled at the sound of his dark, comfortable laugh and ducked himself against his chest, letting his eyes fall shut as his brother's head rested on his and his arms encased around him protectively. Slowly, Sasuke felt Itachi's body begin to lax as he fell into the human pleasantries slumber offered him. Sasuke's smile faded slightly as he switched his consciousness off to reality. He managed to place the disturbing flicker of a nightmare in the back of his mind for now but, he had his doubts that he could keep it there for long.

* * *

Naruto's plan for Sunday was not going accordingly. After finding Neji at the training headquarters the day prior, Naruto had been eager to return and discuss their mutual goal. He hadn't gotten to speak long with Neji – the twins kicked him out when he let the new recruit in. He wanted to know how his former enemy had come to meet Huntress and how much he'd been informed of the monstrosities ravaging through town. Naruto's plan was to get up earlier than the hunter's had ordered him and gain extra time to train and talk. Unfortunately, fate was being cruel to him.

He forgot to set his clock to his sought after time and, instead of waking to the repetitive beeping at 7:00 AM, he awoke to the louder more urgent phone ringing at 9:00 AM. He wasn't surprised to hear it was Kakashi. After the incident on Friday, he expected the man would probably check up on him more often. As he debriefed the detective about how he spent his Saturday, he rushed about getting dressed – he was late for training. Tayuya would _devour _him. After hanging up on his friend, Naruto shoveled down breakfast, fastened his slayer to the inside of his jacket, and stampeded out of the apartment building.

He thought he was in the clear for headquarters as he pounded down the vacant streets – no longer bustling with shoppers and walkers due to the fear of murder. He was just thinking up a way to dodge his mentor's fists of fury when his pocket vibrated. He came to a screeching halt on the sidewalk, panting from the strain of running so soon after awakening. He quickly found his cell phone and, without looking at the caller ID, flipped it open. He was expecting one of the hunters – he'd given them his number before he left last night.

"Before you freak out, I can totally explain," he gasped.

"Explain what?"

Naruto choked on his heavy breath. Instead of the harsh, unrelenting insults of his volcanic slaying instructor, Naruto was met with a quiet, more familiar chirp.

"Hinata?" he panted, suddenly confused – she rarely called.

"Who were you expecting?" she asked, and he was brought to remember his first words.

"Oh! I'm late for a rendez-vous with Lee."

That was easy to cover up. They all knew how Lee was about punctuality. He lucked out on that one. He needed to assume less and observe what was going on. If he did, he wouldn't be steeped in another lie right now. Finding his breath, Naruto continued moving at a brisk walk. He was so late!

"So what's up?" he asked, hoping to get her off the phone as soon as possible. "Did you need something, Hinata?"

There was a pause on the other end and he could imagine her biting her lip as she thought of what to say.

"Naruto…we need to talk."

"Talk away," he replied, ignoring the seriousness in her voice and figuring he could finish this conversation by the time he reached the book shop.

"It's not something I want to talk about over the phone," Hinata told him, tentatively. "Can you meet me?"

Crap. How could he blow her off without hurting her feelings?

"I told you Hinata. I have other plans," he said, as gently as possible through his rushed strides. "Can it wait?"

She paused again. He didn't have time for this!

"I'll call you when I'm free, okay? Or you can tell me tomorrow at school –"

"No Naruto! This is important!"

He faltered at the sudden conviction in her voice, finding himself re-thinking his assigned training time slot. It was never often that Hinata asked for something.

"I'm sorry!" Hinata added after her outburst, voice shaking in shock at her own persistence. "But…this can't wait. Can you _please _meet me?"

Naruto hesitated, his steps slowing down as he doubted where he needed to be right now. Hinata was a close friend and he was afraid of losing her to Sasuke's charm. It wouldn't help to save her if he deserted her when she needed him. But, he couldn't disregard his training. He was on thin ice with the hunters as it was for doubting Huntress. Plus, his trainers obviously didn't like him much. If he ditched them, would he be jeopardizing his status as a hunter? He couldn't lose them now – his assets.

"Naruto."

He stopped moving altogether at the sound of Hinata's pleading voice. His friends were in the most danger by Sasuke and his breed. Perhaps spending more time with his friends would prevent them from flocking around the leech so much. As he thought more deeply about it, he was starting to think he didn't have much of a choice. Training would have to be post-poned.

"Fine," he sighed into the phone. "Where should I meet you?"

She gave him a location not far from where he was standing before hanging up. As he stalked to the designated area, he contemplated what to do about training. How long was this meeting going to last and what was wrong with Hinata? What could he say to Tayuya and the twins to convince them he was serious about his training when he was so extremely tardy today? What would Neji think? Oh crap. Regardless of their sharing of the same hatred, that wouldn't keep their past insults to one another washed away for long. Naruto was sure the prideful prince's ego wouldn't stay dormant for very much longer. He was sure to call him out on all his missteps in practice. Great, having another trainee alongside him was sounding less and less like what he had hoped for.

Naruto couldn't think much more on it as he spotted Hinata further up ahead. Trying to place his secret occupation aside for the moment, Naruto struggled to mask a friendly smile onto his face and went on to confront her.

"What's up Hinata?" he asked upon reaching her.

She glanced up at him from where she was leaning against a telephone pole. She seemed restless and wary – fearful of being out in the open with a killer on the loose, he figured. Her silver eyes contained worry and pity, not unlike what he heard in Kakashi's voice as of late.

"Let's walk," Hinata said to him, pushing off the telephone pole and heading up the sidewalk.

More moving? He was just about sick of walking – although, he didn't think he should complain when, yesterday, he thought he wouldn't move for weeks. Shrugging it off, he followed the quiet girl onward. Neither spoke for quite some time – she was very deep in thought and he didn't want to be there in the first place. While he waited for her to gather herself together, Naruto surveyed the area warily and sadly. It was supposed to be shopping season right about now. It was the time of year when people were supposed to be out preparing for the approaching, colder months. Yet, the streets were vacant. Here and there he spotted groups of people straying about, aimlessly – no one would walk alone. Again, Naruto's hate towards the Uchihas grew a little more for daring to drain the happiness from Konoha, just as they drained their innocent victims.

"How have you been?"

The small sound almost missed his ears but, nevertheless, drew him back to the matter at hand. The blond looked back at his friend, walking a few steps ahead of him. He couldn't see her face and didn't know how to take that question. So, he went with his average/oblivious act.

"Fine," he said, optimistically. "I'm just hoping the cops catch this killer soon, before someone else gets killed."

The halting of her soft steps took him aback and he almost walked into her. He took a step back and looked at the back of her head, curiously.

"You say you're fine but…"

Hinata looked down at her hands, which were folding together in discomfort. Naruto leaned to one side, trying to see around her back and up to her face. What was this all about?

"Naruto…you haven't been the same since Sakura died."

Her words came out in a rush and lingered in the unwavering atmosphere. Naruto's jaw stiffened – there was nothing distracting him from feeling the heartbreak at her name. He knew what Hinata would probably go on about next. She would say he needed to move past her death and live on without her. She had said something almost identical when he had first broken up with Sakura.

"She didn't just die," Naruto said, looking away from the quiet girl, whom was still turned away from him. "She was stolen away; _murdered_."

"She wasn't the only one," Hinata said, softly.

"I'm well aware of that," he replied, voice lacing with disgust as he recalled all the bloodshed.

There was more silence between them and, more and more, he was itching to bolt away and take out his frustration on a training dummy. Why was she bringing this up, anyway? Was it any of her business? Slowly, Hinata turned halfway around, the profile of her pale face hidden behind her long hair. She nibbled on her lip for a moment before opening her mouth again.

"Why do you mourn for her?" she hesitated to say. "…After all that she did to you…How she hurt you…Why can't you just let her go?"

Naruto got colder and his diamond eyes turned to hot ice at her words. He glared at her, not understanding how she could be so heartless. Sakura was _killed_ and Hinata didn't want him to miss her?

"How can you say that?" he growled, not bothering to cover his rage with hurt – not bothering to hide how he had changed. "How _dare _you say that!"

"It's not like I'm condoning how she died!" Hinata said, frantically. "It's awful and wrong but, she's gone! Nothing's going to change that!"

She turned to face him fully, her silver eyes desperate and pleading for him to listen to her. He refused to though; he ignored it entirely.

"I'm not just going to _forget_ she ever existed, Hinata. And I'm not going to _forget_ everything we went through."

"I'm not asking you to. Just…just don't live your life based on her death."

He didn't say anything; just continued to glare at her. He wasn't sure what she was getting at now. She wasted no time in telling him though. She took a trembling breath, trying to keep a level head throughout her imploring rant.

"You've changed…since she died," she began, struggling to keep a steady voice throughout. "You've been distant and unhappy. I know…you have a lot to be upset about but…Sakura isn't worth putting your life on hold."

"_She wasn't worth it_." That was all Naruto heard and it infuriated him even further. What did she know? She had no idea the connection he shared with Sakura. If she knew of what they said to each other, the moments they shared with one another…How dare she say it wasn't "worth" it!

"I'd like to see how you handled it if someone _you _loved was taken from you," he hissed venomously.

That sparked some emotion in Hinata. Her eyes narrowed sharply and her cheeks flushed in anger – uncharacteristic for her.

"Sakura wasn't someone you _loved_!" she practically screamed. "Banging someone that's using you _is not love_!"

With those words, she instantly switched back to her timid, hesitant self. Her hand flew to her mouth in a delayed attempt to stop her words but, they had long since been said. There was no taking them back. Naruto's eyes blazed with piercing ice and he looked upon her as he looked upon the leeches. She trembled at his hateful glare and at the shock of her own blast of hot words. She hadn't intended for her words to come out so accusatory. Naruto's hands clenched together into fists at his sides and his teeth clamped together. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do at that moment. He hated her for speaking so lowly of the girl he loved but…deep down, he knew she wasn't lying. Sakura had used him, on various occasions. She had never held him in the same regard he held her. Regardless, how could Hinata say such things when she knew, all to well, how he felt? What kind of friend was she?

"I think we're done here," he growled.

Panicked and regretful tears pricked at the edges of her eyes but, she didn't rush to apologize for lashing out at him. He didn't wait to see if she would. Filled with resentment and a hint of betrayal, he turned around and stormed off, blindly marching to the training site. What did she know? he constantly fumed to himself on the way back. How could she know what it felt like? She may have not loved him but, Naruto still loved Sakura. She was the only one that would be bothered to go out with him. She was the only one he'd ever kissed; the only one he'd ever slept with. He still felt her from those nights…from Halloween. He could still feel her skin breathing beneath his fingertips and her lips whispering seductive nothings to him. Every night it seemed, he dreamed of her; whether it was of their sex or of her death, he was haunted by her. He would never have that again; he would never have _her _again and it was all because of the Uchihas. How could Hinata _ever _understand that?

Through his blinding rage, it seemed to take only three steps before he reached the book shop. His sense of time had vanished and he stormed past the glass door without a care. Ukon sat at the whimsy box-desk, pathetically guarding the heavy door leading "downstairs." He glanced up, boredly, from a water-logged gun magazine, at the rough entrance. He was unaffected by Naruto's storming expression.

"You didn't get clawed at again, did you?" the twin sighed, yawning soon afterwards.

Naruto wasn't bothered to give him a response, instead sweeping around him and letting himself past the door – which was unlocked. Ukon rolled his eyes and returned to his bored reading, forgetting to warn the kid that Tayuya was out for blood now that he was so late. Eh, he'd find that out for himself…and he did. Naruto thundered down the dark staircase and into the mini medical center, heading for the second door. As he reached for the digital lock, the door swung towards him and opened to reveal Tayuya, towering like a spire of flame in the doorway.

"Give me five good reasons why I shouldn't re-break your leg!" she erupted. "Do you not own a clock? How long were you planning on keep me standing here?"

"Just shut up and give me something to shoot."

Furiously and defiantly, the blond pushed past his instructor and into the wide expanse of practice area. The woman whirled around after him, appalled that he dared to spite her. He didn't hear any of her blazing curses though. Her explosive personality was nothing in comparison to his rage at the moment. If he didn't ravage something soon, he didn't think he'd restrain himself from using _her_ as a punching bag to tear apart. On his way back to where he remembered the shooting targets to be, he passed by Neji and Sakon – Sakon was teaching him the proper way to wield a slayer. Neji didn't notice him – or maybe he did and was ignoring him, because it was hard not to hear Tayuya. The older boy's silver gaze was transfixed upon the weapon Sakon had leant him…just as Hinata's had been fixed upon Naruto, oh so recently.

Training with such a familiar gaze beside him was really going to start bugging him; Naruto just knew it. Hinata's words kept buzzing around his head like an angry wasp. Since when did she become so judgmental? Especially when she knew he was grieving! How could she regard the dead with such disdain? He thought she was better than that; he thought she had more respect for a lost life; he thought he could trust her. Wasn't it she that _comforted_ him over the same topic during the first week after Sakura's death? When did she decide to change her opinion of their relationship? Naruto's hatred just continued to swell as he listed off such questions in his head. He hated _everyone_ at that moment: he hated Hinata for daring to degrade Sakura; he hated Neji for being related to the girl that defiled Sakura's name; most importantly, he hated Sasuke even more now.

He didn't know where the limit was on his wrath towards the bloodsucker. He didn't think it could rage any further. As far as he was concerned, Hinata turning on him was another result of the Uchiha's murderous intentions. If he hadn't killed Sakura none of this would be happening. Blood boiling, Naruto reached the paper targets and pulled his slayer. The peaceful calm that had overwhelmed the complex with Sakon's easy instruction to Neji, was shattered as the blond fired a volley of furious bullets at the heart of his target. Tayuya had quit pursuing him a safe distance away and her hard gaze examined his work in skeptical silence. He continued to let his bullets devour countless targets, all the while oblivious to the disapproval in both senior hunters' eyes.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke had long since forgotten about his bizarre morning. He buried himself into their private investigation, analyzing Itachi's killing pattern and digging around for suspects. The police had compiled a very short list of suspects but, after calling up Shizune and double-checking, it was confirmed that none of the veteran criminals had the "capabilities" to perform the murders. Sasuke was on the phone with the assistant for a while, asking about any evidence she may have found while scoping out the Garden House crime scene. While he talked with her, Itachi was busying himself trying to figure out the last people the victims had seen before they died. The younger glanced over at him, gazing at the board intently. As he observed his brother's stoic expression, another concern crossed his mind.

"As far as evidence goes," Shizune was saying. "The only thing we came across that could be helpful was a small trail of blood. It led out of the Garden House through his escape route. Once outside though, the visible trail ended. There was still a stale blood scent though and we have our best trackers following it."

"Do you think you'll be able to catch him by that?" Sasuke asked, looking at a picture of Zaku on his computer screen.

"Honestly, I don't know," Shizune sighed into the phone. "If our original is as clever as I think he is, I don't doubt that he would eliminate the scent when he realized Zaku was carrying it."

"I see," Sasuke murmured, beginning to feel disheartened.

"How are you by the way Sasuke?" she suddenly asked in concern. "Lord Zabuza said you'd been shot. I couldn't get the details from Lady Tsunade though. What happened?"

"Naruto happened," Sasuke replied, bitterly. "I suppose it's my own fault though. I went to confront him about my innocence but, he had a slayer ready."

"I'm sorry Sasuke," she said, sincerely.

"Why isn't the Council doing anything about him?" Sasuke pressed. "I don't want him terminated or anything but, why is no action being taken against him?"

There was silence on the other end and Sasuke felt guilty for dumping all his frustrated questions on her. He liked Shizune the most out of all the Council members. She and Tsunade were the only ones on their side.

"I don't know Sasuke," the assistant sighed. "Even if I did, I'm not in a position to divulge such information."

"Uzumaki Naruto is becoming more and more dangerous every second," the Uchiha informed her, softly. "He's in possession of a slayer and he's attracted another hunter into town. It's only a matter of time before one of us gets killed for good or he gets himself killed trying."

"I know. Trust me Sasuke, we all know. Lady Tsunade keeps pushing for stricter tactics against the boy but, the only solution the Council can ever agree on is just to watch him. We've had eyes on Naruto since you told us about his attendance at Haruno Sakura's murder. I'm really sorry that's all we can do Sasuke."

"I just don't understand why he's getting special treatment," Sasuke moaned.

"It's complicated. That's all Lady Tsunade ever tells me."

Sasuke managed a smile that she couldn't see. Then, that concern from earlier reared up in his thoughts again. Tentatively, he went about asking Shizune about it.

"Hey Shizune…After the incident with Naruto, the Count and the Oracle paid us a visit."

"About Haku's vision right?"

"Right. Has he had any more since then?"

He felt Itachi's gaze come to rest on him for the first time in the phone conversation. Sasuke knew he was listening to every word the whole time – he couldn't help himself – but, this was the only topic that concerned him.

"Unfortunately, no; I think he's been too distracted with the last one to open up to a new one. I'm not exactly sure how it all works."

"Would you tell me if there was a new vision?"

It was a wary question and Shizune could detect the mistrust in his voice. Since Itachi had placed doubt in his mind about the Council's intentions, Sasuke wasn't sure what he could believe. He knew Shizune would never keep anything that would majorly affect them from him. Regardless, her duties did come with restrictions. There were certain things she was forbidden to share.

"Sometimes, there are orders even I can't accept," she said, catching him off guard – but in a good way. "The next time the Oracle has a vision, I promise I'll let you know."

If she was there in front of him, Sasuke would have stared at her in shock. That was quite something; to promise to defy orders. A warmth spread in Sasuke's halted heart and his hopelessness from before reversed, making him feel optimistic again.

"Thank you Shizune. I really appreciate that," he said, silently apologizing for his caution towards her.

"No problem," she responded, kindly. "If you don't mind me asking though, why are you so interested in the Oracle's vision?"

Sasuke met Itachi's acutely aimed eyes then, and he didn't hesitate in explaining his reasoning to the woman.

"He said someone I cared about would die. I was hoping to get more information on that."

"I wouldn't worry about Itachi," she giggled, knowing why Sasuke was worried and that the Uchiha in question was listening. "It'll take a lot to bring him down. Still, I'll see if I can weed out specifics for you."

"Thank you," Sasuke sighed in relief.

"It's nothing. I'll see you soon! Maybe I can arrange a meeting for you and Lady Tsunade. We can swap intel or something."

"That sounds good."

"Tread carefully!"

"You too."

Sasuke hung up with a half smile on his face, black eyes still locked with Itachi's. The smile soon faded as his worries resurfaced again.

"I told you, it's not going to be me," Itachi said into the stillness that followed.

"I'm allowed to worry about you Itachi," the younger brother said.

"Your worries are unnecessary," Itachi argued.

Sasuke's gaze sharpened and he abruptly twitched back to the computer, letting his keyboard rattle the silence – even though he wasn't really looking for anything anymore. The elder Uchiha sighed in annoyance. His brother could be so sensitive sometimes.

"Don't you think that if I've lasted as long as I have, I might know a thing or two about avoiding my demise?"

"Things are changing," Sasuke replied, his raven bangs coming between him and Itachi as he stooped over his aimless screening. "We're not safe here; anything could happen. The second something bad happens to you, we're going back to the island."

"That's not fair," Itachi snapped, reaching the edge of the bed in one liquid stride. "We can leave when _I'm _in danger but, I can't take you away when you almost get killed?"

Sasuke didn't bother to look at him, still trying to pretend that he was looking for something in the digital files.

"I think you're being unreasonable, Sasuke."

He quite typing altogether and let his hands fall onto the keyboard with an angry clatter. He turned back to Itachi, whom was looming over him, very guardian-like.

"I'm being _unreasonable_ for being scared to permanent death by an ancient foreseer who says you could die for good soon?"

"Haku's not that ancient and he didn't say it would be me," Itachi pointed out, stubbornly.

"This isn't something to be joking about Itachi!" Sasuke yelled at him.

"What is wrong with you?" Itachi asked out of nowhere, observing the other carefully. "Yesterday you were perfectly fine but, now you're a mess. Does this have to do with this morning?"

"This has to do with _you_! _You_ might be the one I lose and…I don't know how to deal with that!"

Itachi caught a glimpse of desperation in the passionate eyes of his companion, just before he switched around to avoid looking at him. The Oracle's vision had shaken him up worse than he had thought.

"It's not going to be me. Stop worrying."

"We don't' know who it will be," Sasuke mumbled.

"The Oracle said it would be one of your friends. I'm hoping I'm in a higher category than that."

"Why can't you take this seriously for once?" Sasuke rebuffed, not finding his teasing jab amusing. "There's no way we can predict what'll happen! I may be taking the bullets now but, it's only a matter of time before they shift to aim at you. Or you'll…"

Sasuke didn't finish, drawing his legs up to his chest and draping his arms around them, as if trying to coil himself smaller and hide from the destruction around him.

"Or I'll…what?" Itachi pressed, getting aggravated with how Sasuke was refusing to open up to him – he'd been closing his doors a lot since they'd returned.

"I'm afraid you'll die trying to protect me," Sasuke whispered; the sound was like a lost wind tangling through bare autumn boughs.

Itachi softened around his sharp edges. He was always stubborn to admit Sasuke access to look out for him – he was to prideful to not do everything himself. Lately, he had been less than aware of Sasuke's feelings – being more concerned for his existence; what, with Naruto running rampant. His little brother _was_ sensitive. He put up a good act in front of authority like the Council; proceeded with elegance and grace to charm his way around the mortals; but, when it came to matters of the heart, there was little Sasuke could do to mask his emotions. He was the most human of all of them, Itachi always thought. He had lost sight of that after all their peaceful seclusion in their tropical paradise. Gently, Itachi laid a hand upon Sasuke's shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

"I think all this chaos is taking its toll on you. You should take a break from searching."

"This killer doesn't rest, so neither should we," Sasuke grumbled, starting to edge away from the touch he knew he would end up succumbing to soon.

Itachi had already clicked the computer shut and had slid it and all the paper files to the foot of the bed.

"You need a break," he said, more firmly, redirecting him to lie down against the pillows.

Sasuke glared up at him for daring to drag him away from his work, especially when he was so frustrated with him for taking his well-being so lightly. He struggled to look away from those adoring eyes, sweet like milk chocolate. He didn't want to be persuaded into not fretting over the man; he didn't want Itachi to take control of his feelings like he always did. Things always had to be _his _way. That was the one thing he always hated about his sibling.

"Sasuke, look at me," Itachi pleaded with him, quietly.

It was just not possible for Sasuke to deny that sound anything. When he spoke to him with that amount of tenderness and sincere gentility, there was absolutely nothing the boy could do but forgive him for whatever had annoyed him. So, begrudgingly, Sasuke complied with his request and met that searching gaze.

"I'm not going anywhere, Sasuke," he murmured, voice as soft as lamb's wool. "I promised you that I would always be here to protect you. That's never going to change, especially not now, when you're going to need me the most."

"You've shielded me from danger for the past three hundred years. Just this once, why can't you let me do the protecting?"

"I'm to hard-headed and chivalrous to let you," Itachi answered, his lips upturning innocently. "I've always been your knight and I vowed I always would be, until the death."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Sasuke rasped as the other's hand trailed down the side of his face in a loving caress. "What if death is just around the corner?"

"I don't think you give me enough credit," the elder chuckled. "It's like Shizune said: I'm not that easy to bring down."

"You're so full of it," Sasuke muttered, unable to suppress an amused smile.

"Ah. There it is," Itachi sighed, fingering the curve of his lover's lips, fondly. "I was beginning to think I'd never see you smile again."

"There's little to smile about since we came back," Sasuke mused.

"How can I make you happy again?"

"You already make me happy," Sasuke said, linking his arms around the man's neck and tugging him close so their foreheads pressed together. "Just being like this – together – makes me happy."

"You've been so stressed lately," Itachi pointed out. "You get tenser every day and I don't know how to help relieve you without getting on your nerves."

"I have been pretty temperamental lately, haven't I?" Sasuke laughed a little, ashamed of not letting his soul-mate help him through all this bloodshed. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter. I'll still love you, no matter what you throw at me. Forever and always, remember?"

"Yeah. Forever and always."

They shared a smile for a few moments before Itachi closed the distance between them and kissed him. Sasuke hugged him tighter, just letting his thoughts get lost in the bliss the action always brought him. He sighed in defeat; Itachi was such a cheater. He had done it again. He'd made him forget all of his worries for his dear brother.

* * *

_I try to make you see my side / I always try to stay in line / But your eyes see right through / That's all they do / I'm getting buried in this place / I've got no room your in my face / Don't say anything / Just go away_


	19. CHAPTER 18 Equally Destructive

**~Chapter XVIII~**

_~Equally Destructive~_

* * *

_Alarming silence / Predicts the violence that is yet to come / We are senseless / Proud while blindness is catching up with us_

* * *

After his shooting spree, Naruto had felt much less angry but, the after-effect of his rage left him gloomy and depressed. Also, every time he spotted Hinata in school that Monday, a spark of renewed fury flared up inside him. She didn't try to approach him nor did he approach her. He wasn't expecting her to apologize and he didn't plan on doing so either. He didn't feel he had anything to apologize for. _She _was the one who had defiled Sakura's name. If anyone was expected to apologize in their given situation, he thought it should be her.

The depressed mood both Naruto and Hinata were in that day did not go unnoticed by their circle of friends. When the opportunity arose in each of his classes, Naruto's friends would badger him about his mood. They pieced together that he and Hinata had gotten into a fight but, they couldn't find out why or what the little spat was about. Naruto didn't want to discuss it and apparently, neither did Hinata, since they couldn't get any answers out of her either.

It was the most stifling lunch period any of them had sat through. Even Lee's enthusiastic attempts to brighten the mood did nothing to change how they were feeling. There was a lot of distance between the disagreeing pair – their four friends created a sort of box between them at the table. Lee and Kiba were especially emphatic about excavating the truth and rejoining the two friends. Choji and Shikamaru seemed more involved with their own thoughts – Shikamaru had been brooding ever since he'd called Sasuke out a few days ago. Choji was scarfing down more junk food than usual – which was a clear indicator that something was on his mind.

The anxiety resting over their table was hardly unnoticeable. Students passing by to go about their own business sent the shadowed table strange looks – they were usually the most cheery group in the cafeteria. The dreadful quiet about them was uncharacteristic and depressing. No one was pushy enough to ask so, the assumption was made that it was another effect of the murders.

"Hey Sasuke!"

Like a smiley face explosion in the heavy gloom, Lee leaped to his feet, his chair screeching against the smooth floor. The loud sounds shocked awake the more subdued members of the table – Naruto, Hinata, and Shikamaru – and also turned the heads of various fangirls in the room. Today, Naruto didn't bother to hide the hatred he felt towards that monster from showing on his face. It was because of him that things were so rocky among his friends; he had set out to steal them from him in the first place.

There Sasuke stood, in the wide entrance to the bustling cafeteria. He looked lost and even Lee's waving arms and beacon of a smile did little to guide him. His deep onyx eyes glided over to acknowledge the optimist's attempts to gain his attention but, he made no move to comply and approach them. That refusal disassembled Lee's exuberance in a hurry. His arm collapsed to his side and his joyful grin broke into a confused frown. An equally melancholic expression painted the ashen face and his hypnotic eyes slithered meekly from one face to the other at the distant group.

Shikamaru pointedly kept his back to Sasuke but, the rest of them gazed at the Uchiha intuitively. Said revenant fingered the strap of his backpack he'd been grasping and his pearly teeth peeked out to tug at his identically white lip. He longed to join them, especially at seeing the trusting in all their eyes. But, there was still that one pair of eyes, heating up like a boiling kettle amidst all the doe-eyed innocence. He wasn't _afraid_ of Naruto. If things weren't so complicated, he would gladly go about spiting him some more; he was a force to be reckoned with when provoked. Itachi had made a good point that morning though that Sasuke found difficult to argue with.

_"The less you occupy yourself with that imbecile, the more you can devote your time to proving him wrong."_

Sasuke couldn't deny that seeing the look on the fool's face when they unveiled the true killer, would be much more satisfying than kicking his ass at mind games. Still, Sasuke had grown a fondness for the accepting kindness of the people Naruto had surrounded himself with throughout the years. It pierced at his diamond-hard skin to see the wide-eyed confusion on their faces as he displayed reluctance in emerging among them. It was for the best, he kept telling himself. He wasn't safe to be around anyway, especially with the Orcale's vision lingering over his head. In his efforts to dissuade him from worrying about him, Itachi had mentioned that it was Sasuke's "newfound" friends that were in the deepest peril.

With a heavy heart, Sasuke turned away from the despairing faces and – like fate had planned it – he spotted a lonely table in the corner, perfectly suitable for his self-exclusion. He expertly weaved around the curious onlookers and desperate fangirls. He received a few tugs of his jacket sleeve and imploring offers for him to sit with them. He courteously declined and melted from whatever throng had tried to sweep him away. He settled at his new table, his bag coming to rest on the grimy surface with a sad thud. The square contents felt much heavier as he merged with his new chair. As always, he should have listened to his brother, Sasuke reprimanded himself. It was never a good idea to get attached to mortals.

"I don't understand," Lee said at the other table, sinking back into his seat but, still twisted around to gaze at the Uchiha across the room. "Is Sasuke mad at us? Why won't he sit with us?"

No one had an answer and quite frankly, Naruto didn't care. He was somewhat relieved and a bit smug. Perhaps Sasuke had finally realized he was a threat. Maybe this was proof that he was already advancing as a hunter if he could drive Sasuke away from his friends. Naruto could feel him relinquishing control over them already…or not. It dawned on the blond that a familiar sound had abandoned their social bubble. He looked across the table and found that Choji's excessive crunching and crackling had ceased. He was following Lee's whimpering gaze with a forlorn expression of his own.

"Did you say something to him?"

It was Hinata whom had spoken and all of Naruto's muscles clenched with the previous day's ire. Was she really trying to stir up that animosity between them again? He snapped his head over to glare at her and had a hot-blooded retort ready but, soon found that her accusation was not directed towards him. Instead, she was looking, narrow-eyed, at the sluggish boy beside him. Shikamaru raised his head when the rest of the eyes around him, accompanied Hinata's glare. He blinked like he would to clear sleep from his eyes, seeming oblivious to what was transpiring around him.

"What?" he asked in regards to Hinata's question.

"Did you say something to upset Sasuke?" she repeated but, with more clarification for his dim mind.

"I haven't spoken to the guy since I said I didn't like him," the boy answered in disinterest. "He's inclined to go wherever he wants. Good riddance if he's not here."

"How can you be so insensitive?" Lee barked, turning to the boy beside him, appalled. "Sasuke's nice to us! He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Well…he has been awfully friendly with the Dunderheads…" Kiba poked in uncertainly, referring to Kin and Dosu.

"So what? You think he's conspiring against us? Be realistic Kiba. Sasuke can be friends with whoever he wants. It shouldn't matter."

"How hypocritical of you."

Hinata's intensity for the Uchiha's defense had become too much for Naruto to stomach. He didn't stop his cold words and he didn't feel guilty for saying them – mad at her as he was. She stiffened upon hearing his voice and cast a bitter glance his way, which he matched with a scowl of his own.

"Sasuke can see whoever he wants, but it's a sin against God if I do?"

"Don't make everything about you Naruto," she said, icily. "You're not the center of the universe."

"Hinata…"

Kiba looked upon her in shock – having known her the longest. She avoided looking at any of them as she gathered up her things and prepared to depart. Before she abandoned them, she cast one more disgruntled look upon Naruto.

"For the record, _you _were the one that welcomed Sasuke to this table. Now, you jump at the chance to push him away. Who's the real hypocrite?"

Many mouths fell agape at the girl's shocking display of loyalty to Sasuke. Even the ones among them that still adored the raven-haired boy were stunned speechless by her outburst. They may have been speechless but, Naruto was simmering with vengeful vocabulary, especially as she stalked off to the one thing that had triggered such misery. Watching her sit down across from him and smiling like she did with the rest of them, once again, Naruto felt he was facing betrayal.

"S-Sasuke."

The frigid individual in question was not surprised to find the normally shy girl in front of his newly claimed lunch table. While contently falling into the rhythm of algebraic equations, Sasuke couldn't stop his wandering hearing from listening in on his former meal area. He was touched at how the timid girl had broken past her shell to speak up for him – he was honestly just as shocked as the other boys. His smile towards her was genuinely pleased.

"D-Do you mind some…c-company?" she stuttered.

_Say no, say no, say no. Everything will be so much easier if you just say no!_

"No, I don't mind."

…Damnit. The fates liked to screw with him. Regardless of his possibly fatal mistake, Sasuke smiled it out and put on his cheerful façade. It wasn't that much of a façade per se, he thought. He did like Hinata. She was a loving soul and drifted through life with graceful gentility, like a warm spring breeze. Her bashful smile had lightened his mood immensely when she'd arrived.

"Why are you sitting by yourself today?" Hinata piped when she had made herself at home. "If you don't mind me asking that is!"

She reminded him of Shizune, Sasuke thought, randomly – more to stall finding a logical answer for her curious question. She had the same compassion and careful politeness in her voice but, she also had a concealed fierceness – as displayed among the boys at the other table. She wasn't as openly confident as the Countess's secretary but, Sasuke enjoyed anticipating her spontaneous sparks of determination.

"I know where I'm not welcome," the Uchiha spoke up finally, inwardly twitching with his disgust towards the blond for repelling him like he was some sort of insect.

"What are you talking about?" the girl returned, aghast. "Just because Shikamaru doesn't like you, doesn't mean the rest of us don't."

"I know, and I appreciate that. It really means a lot to me but, I don't want to divide you any further," Sasuke went on, his smile growing empty as he discreetly tried to persuade her away. "You all have a very deep bond and I don't want to break through it. You should go back."

He was about to go the cliché route with "I'm too dangerous to be around" but, that would imply too many question marks. The last thing he needed was more of those. Plus, that was too much of a break-up line. He liked the girl but, he wasn't about to date her or anything – oh, what Itachi would do. Sasuke smirked inwardly before refocusing on the present reality. Hinata was staring at him contemplatively, like she was struggling to piece together a difficult puzzle.

"We may be very close," she started, turning her starlight gaze down to her pale hands against the table, "but, that doesn't forbid any of us from making new friends. They may prefer to stay where they are but…I-I want to be your friend and get to know you…like I know Kiba and the others. You're still new to this town and…you shouldn't be on your own…especially in school."

He was never alone, Sasuke wanted to point out. Itachi was _never_ far away. Again though, he was bubbling inside from her attentive consideration. More and more, he wanted to do less and less to send her back to the undeniable safety of the all-breathing club across the room. He would try one more thing before he stopped trying to drive her away.

"Are you sure you're over here to maintain a friendship with me, or are you trying to escape Naruto?"

Like a trigger had just been pulled, Hianta started at his all-knowing inquiry. He didn't speak accusingly or sarcastically but, playfully, with amusement mixed into the respectfulness of his smile. Her face flushed pink at being analyzed so easily and he felt a little guilty for putting her on the spot like that.

"Wh-What do you mean?" she asked, trying to avoid explaining herself.

"It's all over your face," the wise Uchiha said, smiling kindly at her. "When I've seen you two in the hallways, you'd need a map to navigate the distance between you two."

The girl's blush darkened even further in embarrassment and her dark hair fell down over her eyes – a habit of hers, Sasuke noticed she'd picked up.

"So it _is_ Naruto," he answered for her, surprised at how disappointed he felt at finding an ulterior motive in her decision to sit with him.

"It's…not entirely Naruto!" she interjected, hurriedly trying to explain herself so he wouldn't feel like an after-thought. "I still want to get along with you but…I guess Naruto is one of the reasons I came here. It's not what I was thinking when I moved though."

Sasuke was good at reading people so, he knew how to identify a lie. Her honesty was unyielding. It was only when he mentioned it that Hinata had thought more deeply into her reasoning behind leaving her friends behind. Coming to him on behalf of Naruto was a motive unconscious to her until now.

"Of all of you, I would have never expected you and Naruto to argue," he noted, leaning away from his homework and leaving an open invitation for her to vent as she pleased.

A sour smile twisted her delicate lips and – perhaps not really meaning to – she started pouring out everything concerning her about Naruto. Sasuke was diligent in hearing her, his lips flipping from sympathetic frowns to understanding smiles. He told himself he was allowing her to sit and talk because there could be a chance that what she had to say about Sakura, may help in his investigation. He knew he was lying to himself though. He cared about her; he cared about all of them. That was what scared him the most.

* * *

Naruto burst from the school doors at the end of the day with all the rage he'd felt the day before. Today though, he was fearful as well. As furious as he was with Hinata, she was still an innocent, getting caught in Sasuke's web of destruction. He didn't know what he was going to do. How could he save her? How could he convince her that the Uchihas were dangerous without revealing the truth? Was that what it would come to? he wondered. Would he have begin telling the truth to save the people around him? Or would it end up as Tayuya had sai, with padded white walls as the outcome? The hunters needed to help him. They would _have_ to know how to fix this…

"Naruto! Wait up!"

The blond stopped where he was, his fright sending tremors through his body. His fair brows knit together in confusion. He wasn't used to that voice as it was anyway but, hearing it at school was even more alien. Neji trotted after him, his long hair bobbing around him.

"What's your hurry?" the older boy inquired when he caught up to him. "Eager to get to practice?"

The younger of the two blinked his diamond eyes a few times, trying to simmer down so he could converse with the other new hunter without belting out misplaced insults.

"Yeah, high school's a bitch," he ended up replying, tartly.

The two unlikely companions set off on the sidewalks of Konoha to their mutual destination. There remained an awkward silence between the two as they walked, side by side. It's not easy to spontaneously start getting along with someone you've detested for the majority of your life; _especially_ when you were fuming over said rival's cousin. But, suddenly as they were walking, Naruto remembered his foiled plans for his Sunday.

"What were you doing at my backwater high school?" the blond started, hoping to lose his anger amidst idle conversation of a common goal.

"I figured it wouldn't hurt to not walk alone," the Hyuga answered. "Regardless of being armed, these streets are still dangerous and we're only rookies."

He was already using "we." He was much quicker to trust than Naruto had been. He was surprised; Neji was the most conservative and skeptical person he knew. His girlfriend's death had taken a chunk out of his personality; it must have for him to lose his caution.

"You have yours?" Naruto asked him.

"Always; isn't that the most important rule of hunting?"

Well, that didn't last long. If it was possible, joining the hunters may have just amplified his superiority complex.

"Not if you're a student," Naruto argued, stubbornly. "I don't know what rules you abide by at your fancy little private school but, carrying a gun in my school gets you a life-long sentence to stare at metal bars."

Neji glared at him – he hated being proven wrong.

"What will you do if you're attacked during school hours?"

"Lucky for me, the Uchihas aren't stupid enough to make threats in public. If they did though, I guess I would – "

"Hold on! Back up for a second. Who are the Uchihas?"

Naruto glanced over at him, forgetting that he was uncertain of how much Huntress had shared with the Hyuga. How had they even met, anyway?

"You never heard of them?" Naruto questioned, shocked that he knew something the Hyuga didn't. "They're the ones that moved into the old Sarutobi House. You know; the Haunted Mansion on Raiden Hill."

"I knew it was being refurbished and re-habited but, I didn't know by whom. The _Uchihas_ you said?" Neji queried, testing the new name out, thoughtfully.

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed, his mood darkening again as he thought about the black-eyed bastards. "Sasuke and Itachi are vampires."

For a second, Naruto was afraid the other teen would fall flat on his face on the concrete. His steady lope faltered and he paled considerably, his stormy grey eyes widening. This was news to him? Had Huntress told him _anything_ at all?

"I thought someone had already covered all of this with you," Naruto spoke his thoughts aloud, scrutinizing Neji and confused at how "out of the loop" he was.

It was like they had swapped roles. For once, it was Naruto that had a lesson to teach. He had the more knowledge – although not by much. He wasn't used to having more aces than the intelligent Hyuga. The fact that he had something to reign over one of the people, that had towered over him for so long made him feel…powerful. Neji may have had a (much) higher IQ than he did but, Naruto had begun this little "revolution" against the leeches.

"How did you find out about all of this anyway?" Naruto pried when the silver-eyed boy was too stunned by his apparent revelation about the Uchihas to speak.

Neji blinked past his shocked haze and looked to Naruto, vacantly – Naruto couldn't understand why he was so amazed.

"I…" he started, gulping down his confusion and attempting to compose himself before starting again. "When I first saw…Tenten's body" – he shuddered and gulped – "I automatically knew she was killed by a madman. There was nothing that would convince me of the culprit being an animal. Tenten…she was really into horror stories and believed in the supernatural. She would always scour the web for ghost tours and was saving up for a trip to Loch Ness to investigate the monster sightings." – He smiled, wistfully as he recalled such things about his lost love. – "A few days after her burial, I was…looking through her things – her father had invited me to take whatever I wanted to…remember her by…"

He had to stop for a few moments, lest he start sobbing into Naruto's jacket. He didn't mind giving him some time. It was still a bit of a trek to the book shop and they still had to stop at his apartment to fetch his slayer. It was a bit uncomfortable to see his former rival so out of his element but, Naruto couldn't stop him from feeling. They had taunted each other plenty of times on their romantic status but, it never seemed to have the desired effect when Naruto called Neji out on it. Was it really all because of this first victim? Naruto had never met Tenten, nor had he ever seen her and Neji together. He had seen Neji at the cemetery that one day thought. Had he truly loved this girl that much? Naruto couldn't wrap his mind around it for some reason.

"Tenten read a lot," the Hyuga finally continued, although his voice was shaking a little. "She had boxes full of books regarding certain mysteries. One box was full of her findings on Bigfoot; another was full of stuff on ghosts. The day I went there after the funeral, I stumbled upon everything she'd collected on vampires. I didn't think anything of it at first but, as I was flipping through her 'research' as she like to call it, I started seeing links to her murder.

'I thought I was going mad for believing that a fairy tale could have killed her but, all her books clicked together with how she was killed. Her blood was drained from her body – although it wasn't missing – and she was killed under the cover of night. I know that doesn't mean it was a vampire – a lot of murders happen at night. Another thing the police couldn't find was a murder weapon – even after the autopsy. That's when I started thinking that it may have not been on object but, an appendage."

"What do you – "

"Vampires can extend their nails into claws. They can cut through anything."

"Yeah, I know that…" Naruto said, glaring at him for constantly needing to know more than everyone else.

"Then why did you bother to ask?" Neji retorted, glancing over at him, eyes scolding – his previous despair long since lost in his detailed recollection.

"Just keep talking," Naruto muttered, unhappily.

He had a snappy comeback in store from years of experience with the demure Hyuga but, he figured he'd humor him. Biting his tongue, Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets and glared ahead. Neji rolled his eyes at his immaturity and then continued on.

"It was deranged to think that something that didn't exist had killed her but, everything was beginning to make sense the more I read about vampires. Then, I found a secret URL she'd written down and I couldn't resist checking it out. That's when I found Huntress. I spent hours one night asking her hundreds of questions. Her answers only confirmed my suspicions about vampires being real. I told her about Tenten – and by that time the Double Murders had occurred. She gave me a crash course in how to defend myself and when I told her I wanted revenge for Tenten, she sent me to the twins."

"No one told you who the leeches were?" Naruto queried, confused as to why Huntress would leave that out of all things.

"No, I assumed there was only one running rampant. What do you know?"

"Tayuya told me…that vampires have been in Konoha since it was built. Half the population must be bloodsuckers."

This time, Neji's shock brought his feet to a complete halt and the duffel bag strap over his shoulder that he was holding nearly fell from his grasp. Terror struck through his gaze and Naruto saw, mirrored back at him, his own fear from his earlier days facing the immortal menace.

"H-Half the…You can't be serious!"

"We can't joke about these things," Naruto told him, grimly. "I don't know all the 'hows and whys' but, there's a lot we don't know about this place. We'll have to grill Tayuya or the twins if we want to know more and if they won't tell us, then we'll have to contact Huntress for answers."

"Half…all this time…_half_…"

It didn't seem like Neji could comprehend how much danger was truly surrounding him. He stared at the hard ground beneath him hopelessly, and his next words told him why.

"How will we ever find out who killed her?"

"They haven't told you that either?"

God, what was wrong with the hunters? Why hadn't Neji been briefed already?

"Wait, _you know_ who the killer us?"

An explosion of fury spilled in the Hyuga's sharp gaze and he glowered at the blond with silver contempt for daring to withhold this pivotal information from him. Naruto was almost staggered by the blazing intensity that had so suddenly combusted to life.

"Don't just stand there, you idiot!" he bellowed. "Tell me now!"

"Open your eyes you narcissistic know-it-all!" Naruto flashed back, resorting to an old insult on instinct. "Maybe you would have heard me mention them before!"

The heart-broken boy stopped fuming for a breath and took a mental step back to remember whatever Naruto had mentioned.

"The…_Uchihas_? _They're_ the killers?"

"No doubt about it," Naruto growled, images of that night replaying through his mind.

Sakura's dying breath…her blood staining Sasuke's shirt…his red eyes watching him…and those fangs for the face of a demon.

"If you know that they're guilty then, why hasn't anything been done to stop them? Do the hunters know this? Why haven't they gone to kill them?"

"It's not that easy!" Naruto snapped. "The Uchihas have connections. If we openly confront them, I just know they'll rally together to form an impenetrable wall. There aren't enough hunters to outmatch them. It would be suicide to try and slay them at our current level."

Neji's hands clenched around his bag strap and his teeth ground together. Naruto could see him calculating all the odds in his head and he grew more distraught each time their side lost.

"It _can't _be impossible. They can't get away with this…"

"The Uchihas can't be taken down quietly. I _know_ this is going to end in war. We need to be ready."

Neji met his fiery gaze, his forehead creased as he pondered the boy's words.

"Naruto…you're talking about building an army…"

"It's the only chance we've got if Konoha is ever going to be safe again. We just need more people that will believe the truth and are crazy enough to fight these monsters."

Despite all of Tayuya's warnings, Naruto had thought a lot about his solution. It was dangerous to try and involve other humans in his quest for vengeance but, he knew the only way they could defend themselves would be to fight. Studying Neji before him, he saw an uncertain agreement flicker in his gaze.

"If that's the only way," he said, slowly, "then I might know a way of gathering recruits."

* * *

"How about a walk?"

The Uchihas left their belongings in their expensive vehicle parked in front of the school, and then stalked off into the dismal day. The sky was overcast and when the wind blew, it bit into skin – although it didn't bother the brothers. Sasuke inhaled the freezing air and daringly entwined his hand with Itachi's. The elder brightened at the contact and squeezed back, tightly. The streets were practically empty. There was no one to see.

"It's been awhile since we spent our time like this," Itachi noted, gently urging him closer so their arms rustled against the other. "What brought this on?"

"It's like I've been saying: we haven't been spending enough time together," Sasuke explained, smiling over at him. "We deserve some time to just walk without worrying about anything."

"Are we allowed to talk?" Itachi teased.

"Of course; how was your day?"

Perfect contentment fell between them and they got lost among the labyrinth of footpaths and sidewalks of Konoha. They talked of how they spent their day, avoiding talk of the blood and gore, and all their fears of the doom looming over the town. They laughed at gusts of wind that futilely tried to disrupt them, just striving to forget all the nightmares transpiring around them. Itachi didn't pry about Sasuke's dream from yesterday morning – in fact, the latter was almost sure he'd forgotten all about it. Sasuke didn't persist in protecting Itachi from Haku's vision – neither of them brought it up.

This was how it should have been, Sasuke thought. When he'd requested a return to their birth place, it was moments like this he'd sought. He had intended for no malice upon returning. He just wanted peace; a calm entity. Why was someone so intent upon spoiling that happiness for him?

"Don't think about it."

Sasuke blinked once and looked to Itachi in confusion. The older brother sighed in slight exasperation.

"You started thinking about the murders. I thought this walk was meant to help forget about them for a while."

The younger smiled, apologetically, wrapping his other arm around Itachi's and hugging him affectionately.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty or anything," Itachi started, thinking he'd sounded accusing or something.

"No, no. You're right. This is our time," Sasuke said, smiling up at him, appreciatively. "You're supposed to have my undivided attention."

When he was sure no one was nearby to see, Sasuke snuck in a kiss. Itachi sighed, happily, and hugged him closer, resting his head on top of Sasuke's.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," Sasuke replied.

Everything was still as the two reveled in the peace brought about them. It was a surreal feeling; almost like everything that had been happening was just a bad dream…almost.

They smelled the blood before they heard the scream. Red tinged the edges of their vision and their mouths began to salivate as the delectable scent permeated the air. Instantly, Sasuke was overcome with horrific memories from the night of Sakura's murder: the horrified scream; the spilled blood; the deathly cold air. And just like that night, Sasuke bolted in pursuit of that scent, tearing away from the sentinel arms around him. It was less than a block away. It seemed like only three steps had been taken before he was there.

A woman was heaped on the ground, wailing heart-brokenly up to the sky. A crowd was already gathering, gasping and crying in panic. A body was hanging above the main entrance to the police station. Men with badges were already frantically at work setting up police tape. Sasuke hid in the shadows of an alley across the street, staring in horror at the fresh scene. Itachi latched onto him from behind and began to whisper attempted comforts to him. There was no way to relieve the boy this time though. His eyes were hot with bloodlust and remorse, and he gripped the arms around him like they were the only things preventing him from going mad with hysteria.

Above the torn apart body were two words written in the victim's blood. The dripping letters read, "_WELCOME HOME_."

* * *

_Equally destructive as we are / Don't you think we've also gone too far / We are just a part of this machine and its endless stream_


	20. CHAPTER 19 Love Like Winter

~**Chapter XIX**~

~_Love Like Winter_~

* * *

_Warn your warmth to turn away / Here it's December every day / Press your lips to the sculptures and surely you'll stay / Love like winter / For of sugar and ice I am made, I am made_

* * *

"_WELCOME HOME_."

What kind of sick and twisted monster kept doing this? What black-hearted demon had been spat out of Hell to wreak such misery on such a peaceful surface world? What was the purpose behind tangling his sanity into incomprehensible knots? Why was this happening?

Sasuke's crimson irises burned in his skull with an uncontrolled hunger and a more savage desire for redemption. The longer he beheld the freshly marred flesh, the more he felt arctic hate for the soulless creature that so proudly left these grotesque displays. His ears rang with the pitiful sobs of the dark-haired woman in the street. Did the killer find satisfaction in tearing apart these lives; by shedding salty tears, simultaneously with the shedding of that precious life-blood? What was there to gain through such travesty? What message was he so intent upon sending through such horrible massacres?

"We need to leave."

The arms that had built a fortress against losing himself in grief, drew up to clutch his shoulders and twist him around, away from the terrible picture. The image was still there in his mind; still howling behind him. Not even the controlled, dark cherry eyes that were capable of hypnotizing him into imagining better, could make him focus on anything else.

"Sasuke, we have to go home. Your eyes…"

They hurt; the soul preserved inside him was contorted in despair. His dead heart ached as that woman's trumpeting of loss constricted around him. He yearned to console; he craved to find vengeance for these strangers that had been so devastated. He just wanted to make all the crying stop.

A strangled whimper clawed out of his throat and he couldn't form any words. He couldn't think past the guilt; his selfish need to return to his homeland had caused all of this pain. It hurt him to feel that guilt he so helplessly placed on himself. There was no way he could deny that these violent crimes were demented results of their return.

Sasuke was overwhelmed with a selfless fear for the rest of the innocent people that were still vulnerable to this madman's bloody streak. Unable to bear the unearthly cold of death, freezing the air all around them, Sasuke melted into an emotional puddle against the steadfast fearlessness of his stony brother. He wanted to hide; he _needed_ to hide from all the desperate banter and the tantalizing smell of that vast canvas of blood.

"Sasuke…" Itachi whispered his name, concealing him in his strong arms yet again.

The grief-stricken boy clamped his fiendish eyes shut and his hoary fingers grasped pleadingly at the coveted material of his brother's black jacket, begging him to do the impossible and make it all go away. Itachi crooned to him, gentle words of sweet things and compassion, attempting to drown out the chaos engulfing the street beyond their private alleyway. The closeness did well to help Sasuke pretend that he could hide from the world; hide from the shame it brought him. The near whispers couldn't combat the shrill sobs and frantic questioning berating against each other beyond.

"Now I'm scared," he choked when he was somewhat able to speak without the words unfolding into a sniffling mess.

Itachi hugged him closer still, his guardian arms compressing him deeper against his chest. One hand escaped from the protective lock to run up his back and into his soft hair, teasing the neat spikes reassuringly.

"It's okay. We'll figure this out; I promise. For now, let me take you home."

His solid body shifted and Sasuke felt him preparing to lift him up and carry him home. The brisk pace of approaching footsteps stalled him though. His arms tensed around Sasuke; a silent warning to keep his eyes closed lest another became aware of their identity…like the last time they were caught at the scene of the crime.

"What's going on over here?" a rough female voice asked from within the alley – Sasuke didn't recognize it.

"My brother's frightened is all. We all are," the eldest Uchiha replied to the woman, flicking on his average by-standing mode, with an added velvet charm to help persuade her to move on to more pressing matters.

There was a rather judging silence and Sasuke felt her observing him. He didn't have to act like he was afraid; he was truly terrified of the gruesome message. He trembled in distress; he was ready to go home now.

"Another body huh?" the woman said reproachfully, and her trained sights shifted off of the distraught boy. "Things are worse than I thought."

"How bad did you think it was before, if it's just 'getting worse' _now_?"

Past his racing mind and melancholic heart, Sasuke read into the all-about tension in his frigid protector. There was deep mistrust in his rigid posture and a challenging accusation in his bitter words. When he sensed the raspy-voiced woman turn back to Itachi with more suspicion and spite emanating from her body, Sasuke placed more emphasis on his desire to leave, tugging urgently at his brother's jacket.

"Can we please go home?" he choked out, finding it hard to function past the reek of blood. "I can't…"

"I know. Come on, I'll get you out of here," Itachi murmured, giving his shoulder an assuaging rub. "Excuse us."

Hastily, Itachi maneuvered his lamentable companion so he was facing away from the woman. They started down the alleyway and, for a moment, Sasuke was even more distressed in thinking she was going to stop them; Sasuke could feel her boiling over with frustrated questions she sought to ask. Thankfully, a commotion further near the crime scene drew her attention, leaving the Uchihas room to escape without interference.

Even despite his curiosity about the stranger, Sasuke refuse to open his smoldering eyes until they were in the sanctuary of their home. When Itachi had walked them down few short streets away from the new crime scene and he was sure no one had trailed after them, he swiftly lifted Sasuke up into his arms and blended away into the cold November win.

Sasuke was laid into the arm safety of their bedroom within seconds ere he promptly proceeded to breakdown. Itachi sat him on the bed, holding him by the shoulders with a delicate though, as if he were afraid if he held him to tight, he would shatter into a million pieces.

"Are you okay?" he asked – there was really nothing else he could say.

Finally, Sasuke let his eyes open when he could still see the bloody street in the black vastness of his closed world. He struggled to meet Itachi's gaze – the murky red tinge there would not let him put the set-up in the back of his mind. Those woeful cries still echoed around his head and that sinfully delicious smell still remained; wafting around his senses; cruelly taunting him.

"How many more lives will be lost…because of us?"

Itachi's solemn gaze tinted with the same guilt the younger had inflicted upon himself. Even he could not go back to his coincidence theory; it was undeniable now, that something was fatally wrong with them living in Konoha again. Silently, Itachi twined his arms around his lover, letting him nestle into the tranquil guard of his embrace. Those haunting words, drizzling down the building wall, kept on reeling through Sasuke's mind - the crimson scrawl of a true devil. Someone was delighted to have them back and he had a repulsively demented way of showing it.

* * *

Just when he thought he'd seen it all, just when he thought his skies couldn't darken any further, someone had the gull to go and rip out his partner's throat. Kakashi would never admit it but, he knew he was in shock. He was mortified and nauseated to find this macabre scene waiting for him. The victim – Sarutobi Asuma – had been his friend and co-worker for years and now he was dead; stolen away by a blood-thirsty son of a bitch.

Kakashi knew there was no way he could keep investigating this serial - conflict of interest. He wouldn't be permitted to avenge Asuma – his superiors wouldn't let him self-destruct like that. He knew he should have expected this one way or another. Everyone who joined the force came with a morbid knowledge that the chances of you living long were dwindled some. However, if you kept a level head and knew what you were doing, you had a much better shot. Asuma was one of those better shots. Regardless of that disheartening lesson, Kakashi never thought it would be his partner that lost the odds. He supposed he was selfish in thinking that way.

He couldn't assist in scouring the crime scene with the rest of his comrades; it wasn't that he wasn't allowed, it was just that the shock wouldn't enable him to move. He sat on a bench across the street from the frantic citizens, bustling around the front steps of the station. He didn't know how he was supposed to be reacting in this situation. Should he be doubled over in heartache at the loss of his friend? Should he be redirecting bystanders and gathering evidence, like he was trained? Should he be consoling the dead man's wife, whose screaming dirge had alerted them to the scene in the first place? He just didn't know. This would be the fifth victim in this unrelenting cycle of death. It didn't seem like they'd ever have a hope of making it stop.

As he sat there, quietly trying to accept Asuma's passing, the detective part of his brain churned with aspects of this murder that connected it to the rest. The second he'd seen the man's wife at this murder site, a hundred warning bells belted off in his head. This would be the second time Yuhi Kurenai would be within a close proximity to the bloodied area. Kakashi wasn't sure if it was just a coincidence – every killing had appeared random – or if this connection had been intended – and if so, for what? He did not know; he just didn't know anymore.

The confused detective gathered up the courage to lift his masked face up to look upon the gruesome sight again.

"_WELCOME HOME_."

What on earth was that supposed to mean? Just when he thought he was beginning to understand their sociopath's pattern, he threw an added theatric in. Who exactly was being "welcomed?" In a subconscious attempt to lend him some vague form of relief, the detective thought about going through citizenship records and looking for anyone who had moved here recently. Maybe they could help lead him to this mad man. He knew he was just groveling for some shred of a lead to assist in putting his thoughts at ease but, that didn't mean he wouldn't try it – even if he was let off the case. This had suddenly become personal when the bastard had dared to use a respected officer in his convoluted game.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Kakashi blinked once and shook his grey head to cleanse his thoughts and refocus on the present when he heard the outraged remark. One of the younger officers that was on his team investigating the massacres, was barking at two unfamiliar onlookers angrily.

"What are you thinking, taking pictures of a murder?" the officer – Kotetsu – fumed at them.

"There's no law against it, un!" one of them – a blond – pointed out, indignantly. "Besides, how else are photographers supposed to make a living, un?"

"Make a – that man is dead and you just want to make money!" Kotetsu bellowed in disgust.

"Not entirely, un," the blond photographer corrected him, looking bored whilst his red-haired companion continued to snap away. "I suppose if a newspaper approached us with a reasonable offer, we may accept it, un. My colleague and I aim more to sell for the sake of science, and that unfortunately doesn't have as sufficient of funds, un."

Kakashi blinked once, this time in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was hearing – this argument was near enough that he heard it all. Did they think this was some kind of joke? Was he really hearing this right? How could anyone be that selfish; to sell someone's demise and all the grief it brought to the people around them? What heartless authority made these two clowns think they were allowed to sell and share a man's _death_? The conflicted detective could no longer remain passive as this argument occurred. Like a reaper in the mist, he silently unfolded to his feet and sailed over to the enclosed area, gliding past frantic onlookers and easily twisting under the police tape.

"Kotetsu," he called to the younger detective, calmly. "What seems to be the problem here?"

"Detective Hatake!" Kotetsu responded, voice filling with respect past his exasperation. "These two are taking unauthorized photographs of the crime scene, sir."

"Is that so?" Kakashi replied, sending a cold glare at the two photographers.

"It's not like taking a few pictures is going to tamper with evidence or jeopardize the overall investigation un," the annoying blond defended, twisting a long strand of hair around his finger in boredom.

"What if the photos you take catch something we don't? I would have no problem arresting you for with-holding vital information," Kakashi spat at him, starting to let his anger slip out.

"If we catch something you don't, then clearly you're not doing your job right. If it's taken you _five bodies_ to try and come close to catching a killer, you're probably already doing something wrong."

This unbound Kakashi's fury and with a ferocious growl, he grabbed the blonde's shirt collar, preparing to pound the living hell out of his pompous face. The thrilled flash that struck through his gray-blue eye – not hidden beneath his long hair - at being challenged, just made Kakashi all the more tempted to break the rules and beat him to a bloody pulp.

"Well? What are you waiting for, un?" the man pressed him, impatiently.

"Deidara, knock it off."

The red-head that had continued stealing shots of the devastation spoke for the first time and easily pried his companion out of Kakashi's vicious grasp.

"I apologize on behalf of my partner," the man said with a calm but spider-like voice. "He really doesn't know how to avoid crossing most lines."

The mouthy blond pouted and crossed his arms over his chest like a stubborn child. The red-head sent a scolding glare his way before returning his attention to the officers.

"My cohort does have a point though," he went on. "There is no law against what we're doing here."

"Don't start preaching the law to me, like you know better," Kakashi hissed, scathingly.

"You know, it's awfully immature how you're acting, just because you can't get your way."

Wisely anticipating the possibility of a wrong move, the blond positioned himself a safe distance away, leaving his more collected and devious comrade to fend for himself – which Kakashi could see he probably preferred. A sly smirk filled the red-head's face while he patiently waited for a reaction. Kakashi had exceeded his boiling point a long time ago and he was just about to let his badge get taken away from him to have the satisfaction of teaching these two pompous idiots a well-deserved lesson. The rational part of his mind – the part that had gotten him into the valued position he was in today – kept tugging him back from causing the strangers bodily harm.

His fists clenched and unclenched in confliction as he glowered at the confident red-head. He hated this; he hated that he couldn't rip that camera from around his neck and smash it into a million pieces. It wasn't sensible of him to fight these two – it also wasn't legal. He was compromising himself by confronting them; he was too emotionally attached to function properly. He knew he needed to extract himself from this potential thrall before he did something he would forever regret. Those eyes before him though, kept on taunting him, urging him to go down that violent path opening up in his mind.

"Detective Hatake…" Kotetsu said nearby, noticing Kakashi's tense body language and worrying about the consequences of his impending actions.

Kakashi held the unwavering gaze a few heart-pounding moments longer before he reluctantly conceded, dropping his one-eyed stare. The red-head's smirk broadened in victory.

"If that's all, my colleague and I will finish up here and be on our way."

He turned back to the blond, who gave him a round of obnoxious applause for his "success." That approving grin brought Kakashi's rage to a simmer again and he wondered in disgust what there was to applaud in this dark time.

"Way to go Sasori-danna!" the irritating blond congratulated him but, was promptly hit over the head by the now stony red-head. "Ow!"

"Your big mouth always gets us into trouble," the one named Sasori sighed as his partner nursed his abused head. "Next time, I won't save your ass from getting handed to you."

"You always say that," the other muttered.

Kakashi watched them like a raptor key upon his dinner. They scaled along the police tape and around chaotic citizens like pros. Kotetsu was trying to talk to him but, Kakashi paid him no mind. That dark part of him hadn't entirely released him and he found himself inching after the pair, dangerously within earshot.

"What luck, huh, Sasori-danna?"

"Call me that again and I will disembowel you."

"Our first day in Crimson Konoha and the fifth murder occurs," the blond (who Kakashi remembered was named Deidara) continued talking as if his friend had never spoken. "It's like it was meant to be; us getting involved in this case."

"Lower your voice. Our goal is too delicate for your fat trap to be spouting about it."

Deidara still went on, like Sasori didn't even exist, "Man, this freak is a true artist, un; sociopathic but, an artist of madness nonetheless."

"You're despicable Deidara. How can you call this art?" Sasori muttered, continuing to snap away and seeming intent on one specific area.

"I'm just thinking like the killer, un. I've taken enough psychology to know how crazies like this work, un. I bet to him, this whole thing is one big exhibit for him to display his 'work.'"

"Well then, I hope he's satisfied with all his publicity," Sasori growled, sarcastically.

"Even negative feedback is of value, so long as he's getting attention."

Kakashi knew it wasn't healthy what he was doing and what he was about to do. The part of his head that had been analyzing this case for the past three weeks, filed away the observations made by the two photographers. The part of his head that was not being used as a filing cabinet and was overcome with grief, was in the saddle at the moment and – quite irrationally – he proceeded by it's command. A gap formed in the crowd, clearing a way directly towards the two, like his next actions were just meant to be.

Throwing away all his regard towards the laws he was so keen upon upholding, the detective reached the unsuspecting photographers. Robotically, he tapped the blond on his shoulder; the one who so dared to offer praise to Konoha's mass murderer. Obliviously, Deidara wriggled around to face him with a smirk on his face. That cocky quirk of the lips dissipated spontaneously when Kakashi's unrestrained fist collided with his smug face. Surprisingly to him, this didn't sate Kakashi's anger in the slightest bit. In fact, it only seemed to make him feel worse. He wasn't entirely aware of what went on after that but, he took a few sloppy blows from the enraged photographer before Sasori pried them apart. No wait, it wasn't Sasori. When he saw red hair, he assumed the other bastard had stepped in to defend his friend. It wasn't him who pulled them apart though; instead, it was a blaze-haired woman with monstrous strength that Kakashi didn't recognize.

He must have been grappling against her because the next hit he took wasn't from a flailing, arrogant civilian; it was a trained, pin-pointed attack that nearly spun his head entirely around. The reality surrounding him snapped back into place and he was berated back to his senses. His actions had stirred even more of a panicked uproar; people were screaming in fright and police were harried with confusion. Kakashi's rage was finally stilled but, it left him feeling hollow and ashamed inside.

"That's enough!" the flame-haired woman shouted. "You're out of line officer! I should have your badge for that and you two: _now_ you're interfering with a police investigation. I should have all three of you tossed in prison for this misconduct. Unfortunately, since I don't have any handcuffs on me, you've all lucked out. Now get out of here before I take a chainsaw to those precious cameras of yours!"

She turned her flamethrower fury on Sasori and Deidara, who defiantly glared back at her. Their impudence didn't last very long at all. Deidara petered out under her blaze-fire glare only a second or two in and he pulled at Sasori's arm, eager to get away. The bloody-haired picture stealer silently challenged the woman's glower a few breaths longer before succumbing to his partner's desperation. The two strangers got lost in the throng of spectators and vanished from the scene, their bickering still echoing over the heads of the civilians.

When there was no doubt they had vacated the premises, the woman responsible for preventing a more disastrous scene, shot a venomous look at Kakashi. He was still a little stunned by his high school-like antics and her punch still had him seeing stars. He stared at her, trying to see past his fog of shame enough to figure out how much trouble he was in for his aggressive motions. He was also trying to figure out who _she _was. He knew every face in the force but, hers was completely alien to him. Just as he thought this, she started shouldering past him, muttering cusses and other cruel things.

"Hey, wait a second," Kakashi finally managed to say, grasping her arm to stop her.

"Don't make me punch you again," she growled, almost bear-like, as she expertly tore her arm free of him.

"I'm sorry," he said, head still pounding from her last attack. "I don't know what came over me."

"Yeah, right," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Who are you anyway?" Kakashi asked, trying not to let her condescendence get to him.

"Special Agent Tayuya from the Oto branch," she sighed, swiftly producing the matching identification. "I was sent with my partner to assist in your investigation and town security. Clearly, more security's needed than I thought."

She glared at him again. Never before had he felt so disgraced, and he had done it to himself. He wanted to use Asuma's death as an excuse for his unruly behavior but, knew that wasn't right. Regardless of his loss, he was trained to accept defeat. He'd grown up learning how to bottle his emotions and store them away. By trying to protect Asuma's honor left behind in his death, Kakashi had defiled his memory with violence.

"You'll have me taken off the case for this…won't you? After all, it appears you're my superior," he said, glumly.

"You're Detective Hatake Kakashi?" she asked and he nodded. "Now that your partner's a victim, I should have you kicked off, especially after this mishap. However, from what I've been briefed on, you're the leading investigator for these crimes. You've gathered the most information on this killer; you seem to know him better than anyone. It would be a bad blow to any progress being made if you were suddenly pulled from the investigation."

Kakashi's brows furrowed and he brought his one-eyed gaze up to meet hers. It was true, he did know more about the killer than anyone else; he knew things that no one else would believe…and the look in her hard gaze as he looked back at her, almost implied that she shared his thoughts. That wasn't possible though; no one else could know what he did. And yet, her eyes spoke a deeper understanding, like she knew even more than he did…

"Tread carefully, Detective," Tayuya said. "Keep up this reckless behavior, and it will be the death of you."

* * *

"You should be careful of what you leave out in the open. If anyone else saw that, they may be suspicious."

Tsunade helped herself to a tall glass of wine-and-blood from the Uchihas' bar in the first floor lounging room. She had just come from their bedroom, where their white-board timeline and "borrowed" evidence were on full display. She made herself comfortable on a broad, red velvet armchair, crossing her alabaster legs and leaning her ashen cheek against her knuckles. Her crimson licked gaze transfixed on the two brothers as she stirred the contents of her wine glass with a gentle twitch of her wrist. Itachi sat, erect and prepared as always, in the long, black sofa to the right, before her. At his side, it was clear Sasuke was not in the mindset for the formality that was required for her visits. She wasn't about to call him out on it though; she hated the usage of titles in conversation anyway.

"So, how many days has it been since the Double Murders?" she asked Itachi, dragging her gaze from the slouched and dejected form of the younger Uchiha.

"It's been six days, as I suspected," Itachi answered solemnly, thinking about the gruesome scene they had recently escaped from.

"I wish you would have told me about your findings sooner," the Countess sighed, taking a swift sip of her much-needed drink. "Maybe we could have prevented this."

"It's my fault, Milady!" Shizune quickly cut in, bowing her head and standing rigid to the left of Tsunade's chair. "I should have arranged an earlier meeting – "

"Stop, Shizune; none of us are to blame for this tragedy," the blond said, following her prolonged gulp of her favorite liquid combination. "Even if we could predict the dates in which our killer plans to be active, there would be no way to prevent him from killing again."

Silence subdued all their frustration after her spoken fact. Itachi and Shizune were still tensed with guilt though, feeling they could have done more to contribute to the prevention of this fresh death. Both could have argued their thought flaws but, both knew each of their companions didn't want to hear their "should haves."

"Why have you come here today?" Itachi asked Tsunade instead.

"To give you both an alibi," she answered, upturning her glass again. "No one will argue if you're with me; not even Zabuza or Jiraiya will. After last time's close call, I want to make sure you're safe from questioning this time."

"The police haven't made us suspects, have they?" Itachi asked, brows furrowing in concern.

"Not that I know of," Tsunade told him, resuming her earlier stirring of her glass's contents. "Naruto's the only one that knows the truth about you two, correct?"

Itachi nodded to confirm this and as he did, the Countess looked to Sasuke, hidden behind the dark shield that was his elder sibling. The boy had been silent since she had arrived and he had been staring, vacantly, at a half full glass bottle on the coffee table throughout the entire conversation. She didn't like that they had walked straight into another crime scene. That wouldn't bode well with the already skeptical rest of the Council. She didn't mind covering for them this time; not when she was so aware of their innocence.

"Am I to assume there were no other 'altercations' this time around?" she asked before taking another drink.

Itachi stiffened and his gaze cast downward, disgusted with himself for allowing them to be seen again. Tsunade paused mid-drink at the disgraced hush that followed her question. She remained frozen, like an image captured in a frame, for a few moments, anticipating an explanation from Itachi. When she got none, she melted into another position, dropping her arm and resting her glass on the right arm of her chair, holding the glass stem between her fingers. She turned an expectant and hard glance to the eldest Uchiha, letting the fire in her eyes burn into his skull until he was compelled to share the truth with her.

"There was a hunter there," he finally revealed. "She spoke to us briefly; I don't know if she knew who we were."

Tsunade twitched and an ugly scar cracked the glass in her grasp. Sasuke's attention was finally bought – he hadn't known the woman in the alley was a hunter. He looked to Itachi in concern and the atmosphere surrounding all four of them deepened with worry.

"Why did a hunter see you there?" the Countess inquired, her previous calm now lost amidst this troublesome news.

"I don't know. She was the same one I saw Naruto speaking to a week ago."

"Yes, Tayuya; she's been training Naruto in the art of slaying since she got here."

"And the Council still isn't concerned enough to do something about it?"

Tsunade let her eyes fall shut at Sasuke's scolding words – she knew he couldn't stay quiet for long. As always, she had no argument with Sasuke on this topic. If not exterminated, it would be best for Naruto to at least be contained. She had no clearance to do so though. She'd made a promise that bound her from taking individual action against the boy.

"I've been debating with the rest of the Council about this issue every day," she assured Sasuke, opening her hot amber eyes to look at the remaining contents of her broken wine glass. "If it was my sole decision to make, Naruto would have been dealt with that first night. However, our society isn't run beneath a monarchy. The only compromise we're capable of at the moment is having the boy tailed at all times. Shino has been watching him for weeks, and although I'm not supposed to share this with you, there's much he has discovered."

"Milady, are you sure you want to tell them all of that?" Shizune murmured hesitantly. "If the others find out, they might – "

"Do what Shizune?" Tsunade barked. "I'm the Countess; I've been ruling in the Council centuries before you were born. There's nothing they can do to me."

The assistant still seemed uneasy but, didn't argue with her mistress any further. She resumed her usual silence and slinked into the background again. The Countess fixed her eyes on the Uchihas again, both now open to listen.

"In the lower Western district of Konoha, Naruto's been going to a run-down book shop every afternoon. It's owned by twins, Sakon and Ukon; they're also hunters. We've been lead to believe there's a hunter training complex beneath the shop but, our eyes can't get close enough to see specifics. We've also gathered that these hunters aren't loners; they're part of a society run by someone going by the name of Huntress. Naruto has been exchanging IMs with her since Sakura died. We have a small team trying to track her down and learn her identity. I'm hoping we can make a deal with her to stop their meddling in Konoha. Another thing you should be aware of is that Shino overheard the hunter, Tayuya, saying that three more hunters are to be arriving soon."

"It's getting worse," Sasuke said, his voice barely a thread of a whisper. "Everything's getting worse."

Tsunade courteously turned her attention to her injured glass when Itachi reached back to touch his brother's hand and offer him verbal comfort. The remainder of her beverage had begun to well past the crack she'd made and dripped slowly down the side. She daintily ran her tongue over the jagged surface and lapped up the leaking liquid before quickly finishing off the rest of the glass. After cleaning the transparent object of its red sheen, she deposited it into Shizune's waiting hands and the assistant promptly disposed of it.

"I saw this latest crime scene," the blond announced as Sasuke rested his weary head on his brother's shoulder. "Now I'm convinced that you're more involved in this than simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Why us though and who's to blame?" Sasuke asked, meekly.

"We'll figure it out. We may have a lead on Zaku. Shizune informed you of the blood trail. We've been following it a ways and it doesn't appear to have been swept clean. We think we might know where the next body will be planted."

Sasuke detached himself from Itachi immediately and sat at the very edge of his seat, so far out he was practically sitting on air. His eyes were wide and completely attentive on her. He was more desperate for this to end than he usually let on. Tsunade pitied them. She couldn't fathom what it must feel like to place all the blame for five deaths on themselves, and after so long living in complete peace.

"Are you sure?" he started belting out questions. "How do you know? When did you find this out?"

"We're not positive; we're never positive when it comes to these crazies. While following the scent trail, our team noticed that it heavily lingered around the town square. We think he may have been scoping the place out and planning for a future body deposit. This was discovered early this morning; maybe around 2:30 AM."

Tsunade silently observed Sasuke as he cast a half-accusing glance towards her assistant in the shadows.

"Why didn't you tell me this when we spoke earlier?" he asked Shizune, voice starting to weigh with mistrust.

"There are many reasons," Shizune replied, calmly holding his gaze. "One: at the time I was speaking to you, there was nothing definitive to prove that Zaku was in fact scoping the place out – we're still not sure that's what he was really doing; two: I knew Lady Tsunade would tell you herself when she was ready; and three: I wasn't about to inform you of this and have you barging over there on your own to try and save someone against these guys by yourself. If you're the ones our sociopath is trying to communicate with, it's too dangerous for you to be in the field of danger. Plus, you have enough issues with being at crime scenes and accidentally incriminating yourselves."

Throughout the pause after her explanation, Sasuke was the center of attention. Itachi regarded him with his common protectiveness and concern and Tsunade continued to observe him in contemplative silence. She had her own worries about the boy that she doubted were very far off from Itachi's distress. This whole debacle was slowly, but effortlessly, nibbling away at Sasuke's mind; she feared it wouldn't be long before he went mad with trying to save the countless numbers of lives around him. She admired his selflessness but, at the same time, she was afraid that capacity for good would be his undoing.

"Don't be angry with Shizune," the Countess told him when she saw his black eyes blending into a glare. "She's just following orders; she reports directly to me and no one else. If you're going to be mad about not being told these things sooner, then look here. Honestly though, what do you expect of me? I have an entire town to look after as mayor _and_ the blockheads in the Council. Although I want to help save you from being falsely accused for these murders, I can't baby you. There are some things you'll have to do on your own."

Sasuke's hardening expression faltered at her steady reprimand and he dropped his gaze in submission, the blue-black bangs doing well to veil his face from them. Nearby, Tsunade felt her apprentice lax and watch the young revenant in pity. There was far too much weight on his shoulders for either women's liking.

"Now then," the eldest woman went on, smoothly transitioning back to business, "as for the town square: we have eyes on the place as we speak. If your theory is valid" – she looked at Itachi – "then we're anticipating a second attack _today_. Hopefully, we're a step in front of this guy for once. Tonight, I don't want either of you anywhere near the area. You're both to stay here in your house for the remainder of the day. I will let you know if anything happens when the sun next rises. You will _wait _for my word; don't go asking for information – you're not supposed to know half of this anyway. Am I understood?"

Itachi nodded, reluctantly – he hated being ordered around, despite how desperate the times were. Sasuke picked himself up enough to agree, quietly offering a redeeming apology to Shizune that she accepted with a small smile. Like a lioness awakening from slumber, Tsunade unfolded from her seat.

"I promise that I'm on your side. You just have to trust me," were her final words to the brothers before she departed, her and Shizune vanishing out the door and into the ominous November wind.

* * *

"Alright naves front and center!"

Naruto _really_ didn't get how unaffected the hunters were after the body count had risen to five. Hen he heard the news that morning, Naruto's heart had frozen in time, thoughts racing with panicked images, conjured from fright, of Kakashi hanging from the station walls. Even the body identification that assured his friend was safe, did little to offer him relief. The attack on police personnel was daring on the vampires' part; they were flaunting their unstoppable might by threatening Konoha's only security.

Naruto had tried calling Kakashi that morning after recognizing the new victim as his friend; Asuma had joined Kakashi's visits on a few occasions. He couldn't get through to him though and spent his day silently mourning and plotting. Hinata was still mad at him and sat with the false prince again, in lunch. He also noticed that Kin had been attracted to that cage of a table. Although he wasn't fond of her, it was another blind soul enticed into Sasuke's trap; they were like butterflies, dancing into the spider's web and being bound in the silver threads.

No matter how hard he tried, Naruto couldn't get Neji to discuss their means of recruitment. He hadn't revealed to him how he could get more people involved in their war. Neither had mentioned this possibility to their teachers – especially after Tayuya's laughter when Naruto presented the prospect to her. It frustrated Naruto that the Hyuga would dare keep secret from him his only glimmer of hope. Neji's poker-face was always superb and even in his darkest hour, it still never faltered.

When the boys arrived at the book shop and descended into the training expanses, they found their teachers pouring over a foldable table, covered in a map, weighed down with silver weapons. Tayuya had barked them over the second the heavy door opened – it was unlocked for them (they still didn't have any keys themselves). Tayuya had been late to supervise Naruto's practice the day before and it was only now that she revealed why: she had been at the police station when Asuma's body had been discovered and she had gone undercover as the transfer cop Naruto had first met to unearth any useful information on their enemy.

The police and everyone else were still ignorant of what they were truly up against but, whatever they had miraculously gathered was helpful to the hunters' maneuvers. Tayuya had stolen from an officer's desk the location of the next murder. Naruto was astounded; how was this knowledge predicted? The woman had no answer for him; it was only for the seniors to know how. Originally, Naruto would have been wary of the secrecy; since Huntress had sent him all this proof of how genuine her operation was, he had become open-minded to trust his tutors more, especially now that they wanted to coordinate an actual attack against the monsters.

"Listen well because I _am not_ going to repeat myself. If you miss something, you're screwed. According to this intelligence the original murdering leech has made an accomplice for himself."

"_Them_selves," Naruto corrected. "Who'd the Uchiha bastards sink their teeth into?"

"_Do no interrupt me_!" Tayuya exploded and he knew well enough now to keep his mouth shut until she was finished. "It doesn't matter. The puppy leech was found scoping out the town square so they think that's where the next body is planned to be left. The mayor's had the vicinity blocked off from pedestrians and everyone should be inside early because of this new curfew. Tonight we'll be scoping out this location and set a trap for any leech that shows up to plant a body. It's about time the hunters made a stand against this bloodsucker insurgency."

Naruto had a plethora of questions he would have interrupted her with but, he had to restrain himself. _Who_ found the "puppy leech" "scoping out" this area? How did the mayor know to close this place off? How did they know there would be a body drop tonight? (It had been implied all throughout the woman's explanation). And how the hell did Tayuya get all this stuff? Who did she steal from? He wouldn't ask any of these thoughts though – none of them would answer.

"Are the police staking out the place?" he spoke up instead – she was done talking – and he figured they liked to answer "what to do" questions over "how did" ones.

He was proven correct when Sakon replied, eyes glinting – pleased to discuss some true blue field action.

"We'll encircle the area within a wide radius, staying downwind to help hide us from the leech. If he shows up, we'll condense in and trap him. He'll have either a corpse or a live one with him. If they're alive, half of us will have to taunt him away and secure the victim. When they're clear, we'll organize the kill shot according to how we're organized around his attacks at that point."

"It sounds so simple in theory," Neji mumbled to himself beside Naruto, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Someone will have to stay behind and watch the shop though," Ukon pointed out, drumming his fingers on where they were on the map. "Don't expect me to do it. I've held the fort _way_ too many times."

"I'm not staying here!" Sakon protested, like a child being kept from his favorite TV show.

"Don't count on it," Tayuya hissed when they both glanced at her.

A tense silence fell between the three and the air sparkled with challenge. Their students weren't there anymore; just ghosts on the fringes of a debate monumentally important: who got to go shooting? Neither Naruto or Neji contended for the spot to stay behind. Naruto embraced that fact – he was excited to hunt his first leech – but, he could feel Neji bunching with confusion and objection that Naruto didn't get in the slightest bit.

The hunters quickly and silently came to a conclusion on how to decide who was left out – they'd clearly done this before. Tayuya pulled a neglected slayer from the edge of the table and with a swift twist of her wrist, let it spin on its side in the middle of the map. The three stooped over the silver anxiously, willing it with their thoughts for the nose to stop away from them.

Naruto impatiently waited for the weapon to stop moving, finding this childish choosing positively trivial in comparison to the much larger picture. They were staking out a possible "kill site" and all of them were going to see the Uchihas unveiled as the monsters. His heart soared at the thought of unmasking the clever frauds and finally striking against them in their twisted game. He couldn't wait to show them the hunter he was becoming to destroy them. He hadn't forgotten the effect he'd had on them on Friday the 13th. That feeling of supremacy reigned over such God-like creatures had filled him with a sense of power he'd been craving again for days.

In the end, the gun decided that Sakon would stay behind to guard their lair and no matter of sly persuasion or adolescent cursing could get him out of guard duty. Ukon jumped at the thrill of going on the hunt and danced off to assemble his weapons for the night. Tayuya grinned smugly at having won a spot on the hunting patrol as Sakon sulked over the table, glaring at the gun like it was the bane of his existence for condemning him indoors. As the dust from the muted fray settled, Neji spoke up, tentatively and uncharacteristically nervous.

"You're not sending me out there, are you?" he asked both hunters.

"Well you're not exactly qualified to watch the place," Tayuya said, starting to load her slayer. "That's senior jurisdiction."

"I've just started learning from you though," Neji debated further. "I know close to nothing about hunting vampires. I'll be useless on the frontlines.

There was a shadowed "I'll be killed" laced under his last words that none of the hunters seemed very considerate of.

"You know _something_. That's more than nothing," Tayuya responded, snapping her gun back together and admiring the gleam.

"I can't…I'm not ready…"

"You're ready when we say you're ready and we do say you're ready. Ready?"

The red-head holstered her weapon inside her leather jacket and made way to leave, catching Naruto off guard and leaving Neji stunned with fear.

"Already?" the blond asked. "Isn't it kind of early?"

Tayuya waited by the door for Ukon to catch up, tapping her booted foot in impatience when he went to rub his position in his twin's face. Her sorrel eyes landed on Naruto, aflame with wicked excitement and an unwavering thirst for the hunt.

"It's never too late to go shoot some suckers."

* * *

_It's in the blood, it's in the blood / I met my love before I was born / She wanted love, I taste of blood / She bit my lip and drank my warmth from years before / From years before_


	21. CHAPTER 20 All Around Me

**~Chapter XX~**

_~All Around Me~_

* * *

_I can feel you all around me / Thickening the air I'm breathing / Holding on to what I'm feeling / Savoring this heart that's healing_

* * *

Sasuke watched the last footfalls of twilight disappear into azure night. He took a habitual breath to keep himself calm. With a need for comfort, he nestled back against Itachi, hugging his arm further around him like a blanket. The sturdy elder complied by solidifying more snuggly around his brother. They had agreed not to talk that much since they were unaware of what ancient ears could be scouting for trespassers in forbidden territory.

Against all manner of warnings, Sasuke had recklessly insisted upon inspecting the location of the suspected next "kill site." It was dangerous and it was foolish but, he just couldn't stay away. After failing to find anyone of significance for the suspect list that day, he felt obligated to make himself remotely useful in that marked area. There had been no convincing Itachi to stay in the manor. Following his last self- field assignment, Sasuke was no longer permitted out of his brother's sights; that was understandable.

He fretted over what Tsunade would do to them when she finally learned of their disobedience. He was well aware of how being there compromised them and how they were betraying her uncommon trust. Still, Sasuke was convinced of how deeply he and Itachi were seeded in the bloody maelstrom. If Zaku would make an appearance that night, Sasuke would have a chance to weed for answers. He planned to do anything, no matter how barbaric, to gain some clarity on the shadowed assassin.

They sat on a sheltered roof, built low between two higher structures. They were tucked between a bulky ventilation system and the wall of the right building. A clear view of the wide cobblestone square lay beneath them. The vantage point was ideal for not being seen themselves but, being able to see what was coming. The silence filling the quarantined area was eerie and foreboding, drowning out the echoes of gleeful children playing in the fountain or rustling bags of intent shoppers.

It was a lovely town center. Sasuke applauded Tsunade on her design. At the center was a great stone fountain carved with no faces or creatures, just flower shaped tiers conducting steady veils of water down three cups to the bottom, main pool. Neatly ordered cobblestones fanned out from the fountain a few yards before shifting into pathways to numerous little shops surrounding. It was a ghost of its former bustling self. The shop windows were all veiled in shades and CLOSED signs hung on every door. The only sound against the stones was the running water, a haunting remainder of a once proud center.

Sasuke yearned to say something to relieve the deathly quiet. He was on edge – everyone was. They had all expected the next body to be dropped off the night before. When nothing had happened, Itachi's theory was shaken and doubt placed in all of them. Sasuke could feel his brother stressing about the possibility of failure for hours. They all hated not knowing what was going to happen. A lot of reliance weighed on the elder Uchiha's hypothesis and that loyalty was starting to crash down on him the longer they waited for their opponents' next move.

For a few hours that felt like minutes, the Uchihas sat in statuesque silence, waiting unbearably for something to happen. Nothing did though as the night shaded to darker blues until it was lost in black. The only light came by the crescent move, shining against the cold of the late autumn night. Sasuke was just about ready to give up and he sensed Itachi losing hope as well. With a faint, delicate motion, the younger Uchiha squeezed his lover around the waist. It wasn't often Itachi required reassurances and Sasuke was happy to relieve him with the gentle embrace. Itachi thanked him with a soft stroke to his hair, eyes still glued ahead, defiantly willing Zaku to appear so they could catch him.

It wasn't the killer's accomplice Sasuke scented first. He went as still and lifeless as the brick they leaned against. A fraction of an undeniably familiar smell whispered past Sasuke's nose. If the silent wind hadn't shifted so slightly, he would have never caught it. It was that blond insect, Naruto. He was there, around the square…and he had friends. He whiffed that woman from the alley he'd never seen, another adolescent, and another adult. They were hunters the eldest, Sasuke realized. They knew well enough to keep downwind where it was always more difficult to sense. They appeared not to be aware of him and Itachi's presence. He could hear them unmoving and waiting, no doubt expecting the same person. How did they know though? How did they know to come and why? What would they do?

Itachi's fingers lightly twitched around his shoulder, a near motionless signal for him to be at attention. He had found the hunters as well, lurking within the relative safety of the alleys between the shops. They weren't what caught his primary attention though. Again, the smell hit Sasuke before the sound did. With the breeze that had revealed the hidden hunters, also came their elusive target.

Sasuke could almost see the air grow colder with the hushed approach. The falling water of the fountain suddenly seemed muted and the smooth stone ground seemed to slick with ice. From the mouth of a shadowed alley almost directly across from their hiding place, Sasuke watched a pair of glowing crimson eyes find a face and a body as they stepped into the bright moonlight. Zaku had finally appeared and he was everything expected of a "newcomer." His gaze pierced the night like ruby drills; his new canines bragged from beneath his lips, pulled back in a wolfish sneer; his nails protruded like talons from his hands and his skin was white, tinged blue with the pallor of a corpse. It was a hideous sight to see the bully sunken down to this monstrous low. What was even more terrible though, was that he wasn't alone.

The heart Sasuke sometimes forgot he had, lurched in unbidden panic. Trapped in the bone-crushing arms was a girl and one he recognized: it was Kin. Her eyes were wild with unbridled terror and she desperately struggled against the beast that held her. Her screaming was muffled by his hand clamped around her mouth. His other arm caged around her waist, crushing her back against him and her wrists were bound tight behind her with a rough, painfully thick rope. It was horrible to bear witness to her helpless struggle. She screamed and Zaku would snicker wickedly, taking pleasure in her fright.

Sasuke reclined up from his stoop, ready to leap down and wrap his hands around the repulsive creature's throat. Itachi gripped his arm and jerked him back to their concealed safety. Sasuke's gaze burned with protest but, a blink after he was drawn back to their shelter, five dark shapes materialized on the moonlit ground, surrounding Zaku and his frantic hostage. Kin only grew more distressed at the wraith-like figures that appeared around her. Zaku's gruesome smirk fell into a frown at the added company and his crimson gaze jumped from face to face like a nervous twitch.

"Abumi Zaku, you're wanted for suspected crimes against the people of Konoha. You're to come with us for interrogation. Release the girl and come quietly or we will use deadly force," one of the men said in a non-negotiable but calm voice.

Sasuke recognized Tsunade's scent upon each of the five. It was a relief to find her covering this – he wouldn't have been keen to stay out of the way if they were Zabuza's or Jiraiya's spies. The soles of his shoes stuck to the roof below him as if by cement. Neither of the reckless onlookers dared so much as blink in the breathless moment. The only thing that disturbed the stillness was Kin's convulsive attempts to free herself. Her whimpers were pitiful and her struggling feeble against Zaku's iceberg might.

Her life was a transparent, shimmering strand of web. One gust of wind could break it to disrepair. The next motions would be treacherous and walked on a silk-fine line if Kin's life was to be spared. The faces of Tsunade's forces were bland and impassive but, Sasuke knew it was a rouse to intimidate the young one. It was a fragile situation and none of them wanted it to break into more blood.

Like a feral bird of prey, Zaku's head tilted to jerking, abrupt angles to survey the other predators, his claws still hooked on fast to his prey. After sizing up the enemy, that horrible grin twisted upon his face again, showing off all his sharp, silver teeth. Then he spoke in a guttural voice, transformed to demonic tones by his powerful bloodlust.

"I guess I was wrong to argue after all," he chuckled to himself. "You really were tracking me. Here I thought I'd cleared that last one up so nicely. The old fool was right after all."

"Whose orders are you following?" one of the women among the force barked out at him.

"No one's now," he replied, gleefully. "I follow my own orders. I'm not controlled by anyone but myself. _It feels great_."

His voice changed with primeval delight, like the sound of crumbling rock. The sound scared Kin even more – Sasuke could feel her galloping heart drumming within his skull.

"Release her, Abumi," the first man – the head of the operation – commanded him again.

"Why do you have to ruin all the fun?" the boy whined. "I worked really hard planning this night."

The denial to comply triggered a rehearsed motion in the force and they began to condense around the fugitive, taking the same measured steps in and keeping an equal distance between one another; perfectly balanced, perfectly organized…except, Zaku thought he was unbreakable, preventing him from being intimidated. His demented smile stayed on his ghostly face and, with cheetah swiftness, his dagger-like nails found his hostage's throat. The five stopped together.

"Why care so much about a measly human?" Zaku hissed. "We're made to hunt them and their made to quench us. This is the natural order of things. Why go through the trouble of fighting instinct?"

"Did your sire tell you that?" the head spy growled, voice filled with contempt at the boy's barbarian logic.

"It doesn't really matter. It's how things should be. It's why their blood smells _so _good."

A thin red line appeared on the girl's neck beneath Zaku's fingers and that tantalizing fragrance permeated the air. All of them couldn't resist inhaling and none of them could hide their eyes. Sasuke refrained from the breathing that so sinfully brought him that pleasure. They wouldn't be tempted by Zaku's teasing, would they? No, they were Tsunade's allies. They wouldn't be swayed. The hungry looks though, and the vermillion gazes, weren't reassuring. Kin cried out unheard pleas, growing more hysterical with the multiplication of crimson irises.

"When was the last time any of you had fresh human blood?" Zaku continued to taunt them as the scratch on Kin's neck welled with blood. "No one has to know if you have a taste. I won't tell."

The arctic silence that followed was unbearable. How could they be hesitating? They couldn't seriously be considering…Then, one of them broke rank and took a step closer to the magnetic fluid.

"Sai," the head officer snapped without looking at the dark-haired youth.

"I am intrigued," the persuaded spy said, ruby gaze transfixed on the girl. "Never once have I had fresh blood. I've never bitten into anything's throat. I am curious."

Zaku giggled like a deranged clown and yanked his captive around to face the willing participant. Kin looked at the other in horror, thrashing more in vain as her hope of survival dwindled. Sasuke was repulsed by the pathetic willpower of the enticed officer. He made a meticulous path to Zaku's offering and the other four remained stock still. Sasuke strained against his brother's steel cage grip but, Itachi refused to let him go. He lashed around to glare at him, not understanding why he was just going to let this happen!

The patience that so often tamed Sasuke's passionate spirit had zero effect on him now. He wouldn't' just sit there and let another person die because of this madness. The traitor named Sai was before Zaku now, peering at Kin curiously. Even from the distance they sat, Sasuke could see her begging with her eyes not to hurt her. Defeated Tears drizzled from her eyes but still, no one did anything.

"Go ahead," Zaku urged, brushing her long hair clear of her neck. "I promise you won't be disappointed."

Sai's head tilted to the side like a puppy seeing a gesture for the first time. Like floating wisps of cloud, his hands fell on her shoulders and his head fell down to her pale neck. Zaku chuckled, looking on joyously, ecstatic that he'd won. The mood suddenly changed though: Sai's lusting red eyes napped away from Kin's artery to glare at Zaku and the rest of his comrades braced as if to lunge in. Sasuke understood in that brief, near invisible moment that it was an act; a trick so Sai could get close enough to save the girl.

Zaku seemed to realize this a split second too late since, with a powerful embrace, the spy tore Kin from his clutches. She was safe…until the shots fired. They came out of nowhere, raining into the square like locusts. Itachi forced Sasuke down behind the primitive ventilation system for cover, automatically. No bullets came their way though and Sasuke continued to survey the scene around the metal.

Sai was down first with a shot to his side. Kin screamed and he fell on her – probably deliberate as his last attempt to keep his target safe. One of the women took a nasty wound to the knee, snarling in pain. Sasuke's own arm throbbed as he thought of how they felt. He'd completely disregarded the hunters during his panic attacking, seeing Kin. Now, it looked like they had just cost them the accomplice. The instant the guns had come alive, Zaku had fled, surrendering his prey to Tsunade's squad.

Howls of frustration bellowed above the gunfire as the other three flattened into the alleys to avoid getting hit by the accursed projectiles. No, this just couldn't be happening, Sasuke though. There was no way Zaku could be getting away again! Their only answer to finalizing all the torment could not be slipping from their fingers again. He just wouldn't allow it! Hefting Itachi's weight off of him, Sasuke slithered from their barricade and bolted after Zaku. It was no easy task keeping his speedy steps within earshot over the pounding ricochet of war around him.

The youngest Uchiha blended into the frigid night air and left the heart-wrenching chaos behind, his alerted senses fine-tuned to chasing down the merciless killing apprentice. The bullets and shouting vanished into the rushing of wind as Sasuke flew through the atmosphere. He could hear his intended catch more clearly now that they'd transported clear of the ensuing storm. He could hear Zaku cursing – damning his bad luck; he could hear his thundering steps staggering over obstacles he wasn't trained enough to avoid at such high speeds. Sasuke could move through that timeless void without tripping. He daintily bypassed the things in his way – Dumpsters, fire hydrants, building corners, STOP signs – without faltering his breakneck pace. In a few more bound, he was upon Zaku.

He collided with his target with a force likely strong enough to split the earth. In a flurry of scratching and roaring, crashing and flailing, the two of them tumbled a few yards, breaking the concrete beneath and around them with their diamond hard bodies moving at such an intense velocity. Among their meteor-fall rolling, they bowled each other over in an attempt to conquer the other. Zaku's hellish glare blazed with contempt for his opponent in the whirlwind of limbs and debris. His freshness to his new existence provided him with vital strength but, Sasuke's age gave him more control and accuracy – enough to cancel the brutish might pitted against him.

The Uchiha forced their halt after gaining a vice grip on the opposing force. He slammed Zaku against the hard ground, almost somersaulting over him at the short stop. He maintained his hold though and anchored himself down to keep his dominance. Looking into the face of the murderer's spawn, all Sasuke's hatred boiled up to the surface and into an unbecoming snarl that Zaku defiantly echoed, challenging the ear-splitting sound. When the only echo came to be the bouncing sound off the walls, Zaku began to laugh; a steady but, maniacal laugh.

"No wonder you were so fearsome that day we met," he chuckled. "I always wondered what made me submit to you that day. I could have never imagined the true powers you were just itching to use on me. You're so lucky to have lived like this for so long. It's exhilarating!"

"Who turned you!" he shouted at him, not gracing him with a question and shoving his head against the pavement with a hard bang. "Who's been killing all those people!"

"Is it difficult for you?" Zaku badgered him, completely ignoring his demands. "Is it hard not to have taken blood from a still warm body after all this time? I don't know how you do it. It can't be easy, restraining our _natural_ instincts."

Repulsed by being placed in the same category as the decaying carcass beneath him, Sasuke violently slashed his nails across his face, leaving four dark red lines on his check. He kept on laughing.

"Tell me who it is!" Sasuke yowled, slipping out of his rational mind and into reckless desperation; the detestable state of mind that blended him into the beast that he despised.

The search for answers had driven him to the edge of madness and now that he had the vault of revelations in his hand, the thread that kept him sane was slowly being sawed apart. He needed the key to open up that door. What code would it take to get Zaku talking?

"How don't you know?" the newly-changed mocked. "What a disappointment. You of all people should know."

"You psycho-path, answer me!"

In his fury, Zaku found an opening and catapulted Sasuke off of him and into the building wall behind. The Uchiha wasn't stunned and stepped away from the indentation he left with his anger even more fueled. Zaku stood, poised for attack, smiling gruesomely from ear to ear.

"After all that, you seriously can't remember?" he snorted in disbelief. "All of this is to welcome you back."

"I guessed that much," Sasuke growled, venomously. "We're done with this game. Who is it and what do they want!"

"The game's not over until somebody wins," Zaku scolded him, cryptically. "You're precious Council may think they're holding the highest hand but, they're facing a damn good poker face. You have no idea what's coming you're way, and when it finally arrives, it's going to run you over like an avalanche. All it takes to trigger is one simple wrong move. Play your cards wisely."

His warnings rattled Sasuke and beat at his brain. He didn't understand; even when he thought he had before, he never did. All these new questions had been raised and he had no idea what they would do with them.

"Talk with me straight," Sasuke said, throwing as much menace into his voice as he could to scare him. "No more riddling. Tell me the name of your sire."

For the frailest, tiniest fraction of time, it _almost_ looked like the wraith was considering revealing something to him. There was resentment in his gaze for his master, evidence that they weren't currently on friendly terms. Leaking even the thinnest shred of information would be an act of rebellion and give him a further sense of power – something he seemed addicted to. It was a breath of hope that Sasuke foolishly hung onto. Within that moment, Zaku's attention was diverted by a sensing of something distant; something that brought him sadistic joy. He smirked, haughtily, at Sasuke before spinning like the wind of a tornado and bursting in another direction.

Lost by his uncalled for action and still reeling over his disheartening words, Sasuke stormed after him. What had gotten his attention? He then picked up the various, combined scents of the living from up ahead. Someone was out past curfew…shit! He had to get ahead of him; warn them away. Why were they outside? Didn't they know any better? Just when he thought no one else was in danger...What was happening back at the shootout? He need help and…where was Itachi? This brought Sasuke to a standstill, his selfish need for his own happiness suddenly outweighing the value of the life Zaku was after. Where was Itachi? Why wasn't he next to him? Was he stuck in the square? Did he get hit?

Terror struck the young Uchiha like a lightning storm at the imagining of his dearest brother, falling victim to the same bullet that had almost sent him to the after-life. He turned and rushed a few blocks back, frantically calling for his eternal love. Then, like someone was playing a sick and twisted tug-of-war with his decisions, he stopped again, this time to the explosion of the reek of blood once more. Just like that first night, and just like the day before, it bull-dozed over Sasuke, filling him with sinful pleasure and overwhelming dread.

No longer in control of his body, the tormented revenant circled back after his chase. Guilt consumed him. Please God, don't let someone else die because of me, he silently begged. Had his hesitation cost more spilled blood? Please no, please no, oh please no!

_I'm being punished_.

That was the first thing that scrawled across his breaking thoughts as he entered the crimson stage. Zaku looked up from a bleeding mound on the dark alley ground – a mirror image of that first, elusive butcher. A cruel and victorious grin spread across his undead face, showing off rows of sharpened white teeth, glistening with blood and saliva. His demented laughter stayed with him for a long time as the leering gremlin became one with the shadows and left him to view his left-over mayhem.

He hadn't felt sick – truly nauseous – since the garlic incident with Naruto. The sickness he felt at that moment though, was unlike even that allergic reaction and even more impossible to describe. His entire being felt like it imploded in on himself and he wasn't sure he could hold his weight up anymore. Whatever life kept him standing those past three centuries drained out of him in horror. His tingling, nocturnal eyes suddenly recognized with painful familiarity, the aghast face against the stone ground. Now that he was focused on it, there was that unmistakable aroma he'd missed from a distance that defined this person's individual scent; that one thing that gave it originality.

Drawn by a cruel tormentor's puppet strings, he approached the dying body, afraid of meeting those fearful eyes that would surely mimic that first night. He landed on his knees, lighter than he expected, and his aching gaze fell down upon the face; the one face that he never expected to see blood-stained, making it all the more agonizing to face it. It was like watching the embodiment of innocence die.

"S…Sas…uke?" came the choked gasp.

A shattered smile dared to play on his white lips – maybe it was the surprise of the victim that caused it. Maybe this had just pushed him into insanity.

"What are you doing here…Choji?"

Quiet, sweet, trusting Choji: the last person to give his opinion; the first person to share; the next person to die too young. The hardest part was how unexpected it was. Haku had said it would be someone he cared about. He automatically assumed it'd be Itachi, the only thing that made him complete. When he'd been warned to look to friends, Choji was the last one he imagined. It could have been Hinata; hell, it could have been Shizune; and when he'd seen Kin down there in Zaku's clutches, he swore it would be her. Not Choji; never Choji. It wasn't that he didn't care about him like the rest. That was precisely the issue: he cared too much; he just didn't realize it soon enough. Subtly and almost phantasmal, he was the glue that kept that welcome circle of innocent faces together. He was the bullies' punching bag Sasuke had so valiantly sought to defend that first day. That's why it was hurting so much. It was just so unexpected…

"You're supposed to follow the rules," Sasuke said, trying to figure out how this had happened; how something so wrong could be real. "There's a curfew. Don't you read the newspaper?"

A gargled sound that stabbed Sasuke in the gut like a stake, erupted from the dying boy. Soon after, his arm raised in a gesture reminiscent of the night he'd watched Sakura's life pour out of her. His movement was jagged and struggling but, he managed to point a crooked finger towards his face.

"E-Eyes…"

The limb fell back to the unfeeling earth with a stomach-lurching thud. As if fate had ordained it, Sasuke looked up and faced himself, trapped in the uneven confines of a broken window on the left building of the alleyway. There he saw what Choji saw: a red-eyed demon, trying to hide silver fangs beneath death-kissed lips; a reaper looming over a fading soul, just waiting for that final breath. It was all his fault.

"I've lied to you…all of you…and it's cost you so much misery…"

"What…" Choji coughed, "are…"

The age old question: what are you? He didn't have to answer it often – which was how he could delude himself into thinking he was…ordinary. He didn't like saying it; it sounded so unreal; so comical in this generation. Still, there was no other word for them, making it impossible to deny.

"I'm a vampire," he murmured, the only truth he could give the dying boy.

"That's…so…cool."

He laughed; a strangled and unbelievable sound amidst the tragedy of the moment. Sasuke thought it was hilarious. He thought it was "cool" how he'd triggered this entire killing spree? He thought it was "cool" that he was lying there, dying, because of his actions? Maybe death made you talk funny, Sasuke thought. He'd never know.

"You should be inside," he repeated from before. "You should be safe."

There was a melancholy pause where Choji struggled to find his failing voice.

"…It's…O-Okay…"

His almond-shaped eyes drifted away from Sasuke and to the ebony sky above, the first warning whispers of cloud starting to ghost over the moon. Sasuke couldn't comprehend the calm beneath the gasping breathing – if it could even be called that. It was okay? How could it possibly be okay? Did the boy not understand that he was _dying_; that there was nothing he could do to stop it? (He saw the wound; he knew it was hopeless). Was the kid aware of this? Did he not know well enough to be afraid?

"I'm sorry," Sasuke whispered, knowing no matter how many times he apologized, none of it would ever be right.

"It's not your fault," Choji chastised him, weakly, a warped smile that seemed so defiled by the blood, wringing his features. "It wasn't you…who…sliced me open."

Maybe this wasn't real, Sasuke considered. Maybe it was another nightmare and that was why it made no sense. There was just no way _anyone_ could be so casual about death. It just wasn't normal! People weren't that fearless; even Sasuke was afraid to look death in the eye! So why was Choji laughing. Why was he so unconcerned?

"My mom…passed away from…disease. I don't mind…being able to see her…" he explained, perceiving Sasuke's incomprehensive thoughts.

The Uchiha was silenced. Despite all his social graces, he was at a loss. It was the first time he met someone who heartily embraced death and laughed at its attempts to make him suffer his premature demise. He smiled to the sky and Sasuke couldn't fathom what he saw. He didn't know what to do! He didn't want to let him die like that. Why did all the best people have to fall victim first? he asked himself.

"I wish…you could have…told me more…"

A haunting yowl from afar echoed in Sasuke's ears and the lone gunshot that followed silenced it. His head jerked up like a startled rabbit, crimson eyes turned towards where the noises resounded from. It was unmistakably the voices of an execution. It wasn't Itachi – no scent or sound indicated he was in that direction. That was the way Zaku had gone. Had a hunter slain him? Or was it one of Tsunade's spies? He prayed for the former, even if Zaku's end lost all their hopes of answers.

A half-desperate gasp from below brought the Uchiha's attention back to the failing boy. It was there that Sasuke's chokehold on logic snapped like a twig beneath a hunting boot. He just couldn't accept this; he couldn't allow this to happen. Choji was dying and there was no way to stop it; there was no denying that but, Sasuke wouldn't believe it anymore. If he had learned anything at all in his stolen centuries, it was that impossibilities always had a chip in them that let chances shine through. There was always a loophole, even in death.

Moving on instinct from his commoner days, long since past, he first tried to lessen the blood flow, stealing the life out of the brave boy, laughing at death. His cold hands found the gory bite mark on his neck (Zaku only had a chance to tear at his throat). The hot blood put unwanted feeling in Sasuke's dormant nerves. The pump of crimson nectar was both irresistible and repulsive. The more he felt its warmth around his fingers, the more his eyes burned and mouth dried. And the more he lusted to drink from the wound, the more nauseated he felt.

He wasn't thinking medically – he didn't know what the damage was precisely or what proper treatment was. He just knew he wanted the blood to stop coming and let Choji live. He couldn't seem to get the pressure right; he couldn't press to hard lest he crushed what remained of his neck but, pressing with a more human touch seemed too light. No matter what he did, he could find no middle ground and nothing he tried seemed to make any difference in saving the boy. Choji knew it too. His eyes glazed over and his breathing became less and less. He wasn't trying anymore. He could only manage a few more words.

"Make me a promise," he requested, shuddering with the effort. "Tell the rest…tell them not to cry…And…could you…please protect them…"

Sasuke's palms cemented around the red gouge-mark, his matching eyes staring at the liquid as if it were cursing him; binding him to make promises he feared he couldn't succeed in maintaining.

"You want a demon to protect the people you care about most?" he asked to clarify, half-hoping giving replies would give him reason to keep speaking.

"You're no demon Uchiha Sasuke," Choji chuckled, weakly, eyes falling shut.

That was the last ting he said to him. His chest stopped rising and Sasuke heard his final heartbeat peter out. There was a dreadful silence afterwards, as if the entire world had stopped to acknowledge the ascent o this pure soul. Still, even as no sound or motion came from the body, Sasuke isolated himself from the truth. Choji wasn't dead: corpses didn't smile. It was all some sort of sadistic prank. It was all an unstoppable nightmare.

All the pain harvested and stored away for three centuries flood into Sasuke's unmoving heart as al his walls came collapsing to the ground in this shattering moment. It was more agonizing than a hundred shots of silver; it was more poisonous than ingesting garlic; the feeling of a dead heart breaking would be something Sasuke would never be able to cancel from his memories. As he watched the last rosy color lift from his skin, as he felt the last drop of blood empty from his shell of a body, a blazing other than hunger ravaged his sight. It was something he remembered from a horrific dream; something he felt eons ago, from a life long ago ended: It was the pain of loss and the racing fire of that salty expression of remorse.

For the first time in three hundred spoiled-happy years, he wanted to cry. He wanted to scream for all the world to hear of this cruelty. He wanted to bleed tears until all the Heavens knew of how they betrayed him. He felt himself moving again, shivering with the unbearable desire to release all his agony in those crystal waterfalls. But, he couldn't; because vampires didn't cry. They were dead: they were permitted speech and movement but, no teas, so that when they suffered like this, it was their punishment for cheating death.

Fate liked to condemn Sasuke harshly, for sitting there, stooped over yet another victim, gave him vulnerability let all the bad things possible to fall on him. His ears wouldn't close off to this sound coming; this foreboding rhythm that sent him past the hope of redemption. Like a noose forcing at his neck, Sasuke's head rolled up from Choji, lost to the after-life, and to the mouth of the alley to mimic the scene of his first appearance at a crime scene.

Once more, he was dragged into the unforgiving blue of those ruthless eyes. Once more, all the fault surged over him and another tally placed for reasons he should be slain. And, once again, he had nothing to say; just a silent, blood red plea for right; for forgiveness.

"You just can't get enough, can you?" said that venomous voice, shaking with scars of loved ones, lost forever. "Of all the people…you just can't spare me more anguish, can you?"

Yes, he had been on the receiving end of most of this travesty, hadn't he? Sasuke thought little of Naruto being a victim. That was the truth though: as Sakura died, so had Naruto's capability to love; as Choji now lay dead, so did Naruto's happiness – what was left of it. And Sasuke knew it was all his fault.

"How much more will you take before you're satisfied?" Naruto spat, tears that Sasuke longed to taste himself, running from his hateful gaze. "How many more people will you ruin to keep your sick game alive?"

No more, Sasuke wanted to scream. No more lies; no more suffering; no more blood. Why was it so much to ask for the end? Why didn't anyone see how much he wanted it to stop? He took the blame and he strived so hard to right the horror he unleashed upon them all.

"I can fix this," he whispered; a futile reassurance that the answers would come to him now that Hell had snatched away the only innocence left in his world.

Naruto shook his head and pulled his gun up, glaring tear-stained resentment over the silver length.

"I won't miss this time," he rasped.

Sasuke watched him for a while, waiting for his promised bullet. When it didn't come, he looked back at the body sprawled at his knees. What right did he have to wield immortality like a god? What gave him the privilege to deny the gates of Hell when so many more people, more deserving to thrive on, were whisked into dust?

"I can fix this," he repeated.

With the words, there came a shiver of memory: a ritual of shared blood and an immortalizing bite from sinned teeth. He had been allowed entrance into this shadowed existence; if he could escape death from a single nip, why couldn't he pass on his curse as a gift?

"I can fix this," he said a third time, this time finding fact in it.

Naruto cursed him from behind and a gunshot bounced around the alley walls just as Sasuke put his ridiculous notion into action. He stooped over Choji, trying to remember that night so long ago where Itachi changed him for eternity. All it took was a bite, right? After that, instincts kicked in. Then he'd know what to do. He had to…

"No Sasuke!"

An explosion of sensation burst around the broken Uchiha as he was abruptly withdrawn from his close proximity with Choji's tattered neck. His body moved with his feelings as he was heaved away from the body. He fought back, madly, wailing his desperate mantra: "I can fix this!" "I can fix this!"

"He's dead Sasuke!" said that voice he loved since birth. "He's dead!"

"Liar!" Sasuke caterwauled. "I can fix it! I can save him!"

"It's too late! It's over! You have to stop!"

No, he'd never stop. He'd never stop seeing this night. He'd never stop hearing those ghostly murmurs. He'd never forgive himself for this one. He struggled against the rooted embrace of his protector. He battled to make everything better. Itachi wouldn't let him. That one voice he trusted wouldn't let him free to save a life. No matter how much he screamed, no matter how much he clawed at him, he wouldn't let him go.

Sasuke was dragged into the blood-stained night, begging to change the inevitable; pleading to reverse death and beam life into the constricting darkness settling over his heart.

Just make the pain stop, he prayed. Just make it all go away.

* * *

_The music makes me sway / The angels singing say we are alone with you / I am alone and they are too with you / I'm alive / I'm alive_


	22. CHAPTER 21 Porcelain Heart

**~Chapter XXI~**

~_Porcelain Heart_~

* * *

_Broken heart, one more time / Pick yourself up, why even cry / Broken pieces in your hands / Wonder how you'll make it whole_

* * *

Time just seemed to float by, suspending him in a numbing agony that he couldn't speed past, no matter how hard he tried. In every second that ticked around all the clocks that decorated the manor, he relived that moment in sharp, piercing bolt of guilt. He could have saved him. If he had only reacted faster, he would be alive. How could he forget what he was; what he was capable of? Why was he stopped?

Sasuke had counted every second since he had laid down, left to his solitude in the curtained room. He stared at shadows weaving among other shadows, guided by the stealthy wisps of November breeze, sneaking around the back window wall and through the black velvet curtains that had been drawn against the moonlight. The cries from hours earlier still echoed around the darkness; they continued to haunt and accuse him and fill him with even more guilt. Everything he had said and done that night was wrong. Everything was ruined because of him.

He had hurt Itachi – hurt the only one who seemed to care about him – with hateful words spouted from his despair at the unfair death he had witnessed. Sprawled over the red blankets, he felt heavy, sinking through the delicate passage of time. For the first time, he truly felt _dead_. He didn't blink and he didn't breathe; he didn't think voluntarily and his senses didn't react to anything around him. He was blank and empty.

When Itachi had forced him away from Choji's corpse, he never really registered that he was gone from that place – that blood-drenched alleyway. Even as they passed through the double doors into the safety of the manor, his gaze remained filled with the final rise and fall of the boy's chest; his head swam with his last words. Blinded by the bloodshed, he continued to thrash against his brother's hold, unaware that he was far gone from reversing the tragic night.

"Sasuke, it's over!" Itachi had implored him to calm down. "He's dead. I'm sorry!"

"I can fix it!" Sasuke kept on yowling in desperation. "Let go! I can make it better!"

"Stop, Sasuke, stop! You can't save him anymore! It's done!"

With a violent roar and even more feral attacks, Sasuke had ripped from Itachi's hold and whipped a red gaze, filled with contempt, upon him. The older man's eyes were wide with worry and confusion. This had only stoked the flames of Sasuke's fury even higher. What was there to be confused about? Choji was dead; another name was added to the victim list and he couldn't do anything to change that. No matter how powerful he was, even after defying death for so long, he couldn't spare one person from that fate. How could Itachi not understand that?

"I could have saved him," he repeated – he didn't know how many times he had said it.

"No, Sasuke. Nothing could – "

"I could have saved him if it wasn't for you!" Sasuke bellowed over him.

The more he said there was nothing he could have done – that it was over – the more enraged Sasuke grew.

"You knew I could have saved him and you stopped me," he went on through his teeth, his entire being shaking with his fiery anger.

"You wouldn't have been saving him," Itachi replied, trying to maintain a calm and level head against his brother's escalating accusations.

"Why not?" Sasuke snarled.

"Don't you remember how hard it was starting out? Did you see Zaku? Being like us takes harsh discipline and sometimes _years_ to harness our abilities correctly. Someone like Choji would never have lasted."

"What the hell are you implying; _someone like Choji?_ What the hell does that even mean?"

"He was too good, Sasuke. I couldn't imagine him hurting anything. This wouldn't have been a suitable lifestyle for him."

"So all vampires have to be cold-blooded killers to survive?"

"Damnit Sasuke! That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"Being like us is better than being dead!" Sasuke wailed.

"Changing is forbidden without Council consent. Don't you remember how others looked at you when we broke the rules? Would you have really condemned him to that kind of scrutiny?"

"_It's better than being dead,_" Sasuke repeated, glaring at him with all the hate harbored for the demon plaguing him these past few weeks.

"It's hell, Sasuke," Itachi tried to convince him. "You know what he would have needed to go through. He was too good of a kid to deserve that kind of misery."

"I would have helped him through it," Sasuke persisted, abruptly abandoning his spot before his brother and retreating to the transparent wall, gazing out at the stained night.

"You know that wouldn't have been enough," Itachi murmured, following Sasuke the same instant he moved, remaining a few steps behind him. "I was barely enough for you."

Sasuke didn't snap back at him immediately, recalling how vicious and unreasonable he had been those first few weeks he was forced into withdrawal from fresh blood. His recognition of Itachi's point lasted barely a second though, before he resumed belting out accusations in his fury.

"You could have helped me," he growled, bitterly. "Where were you?"

"I got caught up. There was a lot of gunfire, or did you forget that part of tonight?"

His tone became harsher, Sasuke's relentless string of ridiculous questions starting to get to him. How could he expect him to follow? He had been rather concerned about keeping his lover under cover against the sudden barrage of bullets. When Sasuke had bolted from his grasp, it had been unexpected and terrifying. He couldn't keep up with him and got into a tangle with one of the ambushing hunters before he could tail Sasuke. Why was he being so irrational? Wasn't he at least worried about him? Did he even notice he was gone?

"I'm sorry about Choji," Itachi went on, trying to maintain his calm. "I'm sorry about everyone who died but, it's not my fault. It's not any of our faults."

"I don't care whose fault it is anymore," Sasuke said, coldly, glaring into the darkness as if the murderer could feel his gaze through the vast night. "I just want it to end. We've gone too long without putting an end to it and it disgusts me."

The younger Uchiha rounded away from the windows and back into the shadows of the room, contemplating his methods to bring down the psychopath. Itachi remained by the windows, roving the blackness with his eyes, searching for help in appeasing his enraged brother.

"You're not going to start scouring for suspects right now, are you?" he inquired, turning to observe his companion as he stalked around the room, drifting in circles with no destination.

"Why shouldn't I?" Sasuke retorted, not drawing his bright red eyes up to meet the other's.

"You need to rest. You've gone through a lot…"

"It seems all you ever want me to do is lie down and do nothing!" Sasuke exploded out of nowhere, whirling to finally face Itachi and glare at him from the shadows. "You treat me like some helpless child and I'm sick of it."

"How can you be so ungrateful?" Itachi said, voice now dripping with ice, pushed past the point of understanding. "All I've done since we came back to this godforsaken town is try to keep you happy and safe. Just because your little friend died doesn't mean you have to start blaming me for everything. It's ridiculous!"

"What's ridiculous is how you forbade me from preventing this!" Sasuke roared, an animal-like snarl riding the undercurrents of his voice. "You've always been reluctant to start investigating and getting involved in this case. If I didn't know you so well, I would think you didn't want this monster to be caught!"

"But you do know me that well," Itachi replied, resorting to the mask he often used to shift the wielding of authority – although it had little to no effect with Sasuke. "Therefore, you should know the true reason behind my reservations about digging into these murders. You've already gotten hurt once Sasuke; I don't want it to happen again or for you to get killed for good. My only mission in this existence is to protect you."

Ordinarily, Sasuke knew he would have melted into a wreck of apologies and forgiveness at his lover's sentimental words. However, his personality ad been altered – at least for that condemning moment. The demons that had stolen Choji from the world, lingered in his own frozen heart, poisoning the cold blood in hi veins and contorting the words releasing from his mouth, to the point where he was no longer in control of his actions – or conscious of them.

"There you go again," Sasuke spat, speaking in a low, hiss-like voice, similar to that of a provoked cobra. "You always use me as your excuse. It's always because of me that you're hindered from doing anything helpful. Will you ever stop cowering behind me?"

Despite how the moonlight illuminated him against the night-time backdrop, it seemed as if a great shadow had blotted out that light source as Itachi's eyes relit with the tempestuous fur of crimson madness. Sasuke's haughtiness whimpered down as he was beheld in the devilish glower. He had never been aware that such an expression was capable of distorting that beloved face. It was within that look that the evil gremlins causing mayhem with his words were chased away, and the moment fell upon his regular senses in a panic. His return to normalcy must not have applied to hi face because it was clear Itachi found no altercation in his brother's demeanor.

Faster than even Sasuke's eyes could see, the elder was inches before him, and his hand bound around the upper parts of his arm like diamond shackles. The sensitive region where Naruto's bullet had pierced whined with discomfort but, its protests were left in the farthest corner's of both Uchiha's minds. Sasuke was intently distracted with the scalding intensity of his brother's stare and the unnatural darkness that flooded around his words. He spoke meticulously and with calculating ease, a tone Sasuke had never experienced or observed. Itachi never got angry; not like this – not until now.

"Don't you dare speak down to me like I'm some insignificant nobody. Don't imply that I'm some sniffling coward, incapable of doing anything for anyone. All I ever do is provide for you, and me, and anyone fortunate enough to have earned our hospitality. I've done _everything_ to keep the two of us stable and healthy. If not for me, you wouldn't be here to have this argument right now. Do you really think you would have survived against Naruto's slayer if I hadn't come to save you? I've rushed in front of far too many bullets already for you, and I'll gladly keep doing so if it means you'll stay standing. I will do anything for you…"

His voice rendered to something reminiscent of tenderness, whilst still retaining that alien menace, and his grip tightened to the point where Sasuke felt as vulnerable as in that allergic reaction with Naruto; as fragile as a human. There was an undeniable sense of intimacy crackling in the space between them and Sasuke could see an unbearable lust wafting around the scarlet irises but, it was overwhelmed by a killer rage. If not for the unbreakable love they shared, even through this horrid moment, Sasuke feared Itachi was capable of killing him in his anger.

"I deserve better than what you've given me tonight," Itachi resumed. "I know you're angry and heartbroken and I wish I could relieve you of that but, I can't tolerate you treating me like the villain. I thought you loved me better than that."

Hot words bubbled inside Sasuke's throat, slowly rising to his defense. How could he ignore all the gratitude he'd supplied him with throughout the years? Under the circumstances of that treacherous night, he wasn't allowed one fragment of time just to be angry at _everything?_ After the countless days he acted reserved and polite for guests and friends, he wasn't allowed one minute of raw emotion? His _friend_ had just died. As insignificant as Choji was to Itachi, he still meant something to Sasuke. It didn't matter how vague the connection had been, Sasuke still cared. Was Itachi so incapable of empathy that he couldn't see that?

Itachi had paused in his verbal rampage and Sasuke could tell he was waiting for an apology. This filled Sasuke with disgust. When did his brother become so selfish and insensitive? When did he become so heartless? He wasn't even trying to understand what Choji's death was doing to him. Sasuke refused to surrender to his brother's iron will, especially after he so readily tossed aside his feelings without a care. It wasn't fair for him to be treating him like a disobedient pet. He wouldn't accept that.

"I always thought you valued human life," he said, matching Itachi's fearsome gaze with an unwavering one of his own. "I always thought you weren't going to be like the rest of our kind, and not reign superior over the less powerful. Well, I guess you proved me wrong tonight. You're just as unfeeling as that cold-blooded murderer."

At first, there was nothing, no reaction at all – just silent stillness. They remained frozen in time, unmoving and soundless, locked together by piercing ruby eyes. Sasuke started to fear what his acid words had done to his brother; the cold comparison left a pungent taste in his mouth. More and more into the quiet, Sasuke's capacity for guilt returned and he began fretting over the effects of his cruelty. When Itachi released him and gazed at him solemnly, Sasuke suddenly realized what those effects he had caused were.

In the whispery thread of time before Itachi was gone, Sasuke saw a deep remorse in those cherry eyes that instantly disproved all of Sasuke's suspicions of his brother's vacant emotions. It was one of the most vulnerable and tortured looks Sasuke had seen upon that face, like he was actually feeling the pain of a thousand bullets in his chest. The fact that it had been by his fault that those eyes were stained with such agony, revolted Sasuke and he hated himself like he had never hated anything before, for doing such harm unto his lover.

Then the space in front of him was empty and he was alone in the dark.

He had hurt Itachi. He kept seeing that face against the ceiling as he lay on the bed in the present. The third hour of his solitude would be upon him soon. Still, Itachi wasn't home. How could he expect him to come back after that? Sasuke asked himself. He deserved to leave after that. He deserved to never come back if that was what he wanted.

The thought lingered in Sasuke's head and constricted in his chest like a ravenous serpent. He couldn't be alone. He couldn't bear it. He needed Itachi to survive; every second of his everlasting life had been spent with his brother. He didn't know any other way of living, unless it was with Itachi.

Why did he say all of those awful things? Why had he treated the one he loved with such brutal ferocity? He kept trying to convince himself that he was justified; that he deserved to be so harsh. However many times he told himself that though, nothing made right that look of raw betrayal in Itachi's eyes as he called him an unfeeling monster. The more Sasuke saw those heartbroken eyes, the emptier he felt, inside and out.

Numbly, Sasuke rolled onto his side, facing the side of the bed his lover preferred. He wanted to see his face there; he wanted to feel his presence beside him and curl up in the safety his arms offered. Most of all, he wanted to beg for forgiveness. The darkness around him suddenly seemed frightening and Sasuke soon found himself hugging the pillow his brother's head usually rested upon; he clutched it to his chest like a shield that would protect him from the memories of this most horrid of nights.

He felt as if the shadow were reaching out to him; as if they sought to beat him a punishment for his cruelty. He could imagine voices in the night-time, curing him for the Hell he had brought upon himself, and whispering dreadful taunts to torment him further. An irrepressible whimper tickled Sasuke's throat and he closed his eyes against the blackness, forcing himself not to hear what his mad thoughts had conjured. And now, more than anything, he wished Itachi would come home.

* * *

Naruto spent the remainder of his night tending to his slayer. He disassembled it, cleaned every nook and cranny of it, put it back together, and polished it again. He even polished the fresh bullets he loaded into it. All this he did grudgingly, glaring at his work as he went about it.

The senior hunters were furious with him. He had started shooting too early and had endangered their entire party. He couldn't help it though! That one vampire had snatched Kin from Zaku and was going to devour her himself. Naruto couldn't hold his fire any longer. He had to shoot before she got killed. None of them understood that for some reason. Their mission was far from unsuccessful though. Two blood-sucking bastards were vanquished that night: the crazy psycho, Zaku, and one of the five others. Two out of eight was better than nothing, Naruto thought, although it still nagged in the back of his mind that he had failed to slay either Uchiha again.

He wouldn't deny that he was caught off guard when Itachi had descended into the fray. Even Tayuya seemed to have not realized he was there. When he had seen Itachi, Naruto knew Sasuke wasn't far away. That was when he hurried from the square and found himself face to face with the deranged creature that used to be Zaku. He was even more gruesome up close and Naruto knew that face would add to his nightmares for years to come. The young hunter had hesitated upon seeing Zaku; even under the blood and razor teeth, Naruto could still recognize his childhood tormentor. Zaku had been a jackass – everyone joked that the world would be better off without him. No one – not even Zaku – deserved the fate that crouched before him that night.

"You always were the dumbest of the bunch," the vampire-gone-wrong had said to him in his inhuman, raspy voice. "You always play for the wrong side."

Naruto could have died at that very moment and he never would have known. Zaku licked his scarlet-stained lips and sprang towards him, a smudge of color in the wind. By the time he would have clutched the trigger, it would have been too late – Zaku was that fast. A miracle had saved him though because another bullet struck the monstrosity dead.

The night froze and all Naruto could do was stare, his gun half suspended in his hand from his frantic drawing. Zaku lay flat on his back; dark blood that looked black in the dim light, pooled from his chest. His wild eyes were still open, staring sightlessly at the cloudy night sky, and his mouth was still open with that smile of insanity, silver teeth glowing with moonlight and dripping with blood.

Trembling in a mixture of terror and excitement, Naruto turned from the gruesome corpse to face his savior. He had expected to meet the ferocious and ruthless gaze of his fiery-haired teacher; he had expected some coarse and witty dialogue that just brushed the whole thing aside. But, it wasn't Tayuya; nor was it Ukon. It was Neji but, not the brusque, regal Hyuga he'd always disliked. This Neji was the stranger that he'd seen at the cemetery, sprawled over Tenten's grave and raving mournful pleas in the tongue of a man possessed. This Neji scared Naruto almost more than Zaku.

He was on his knees in the mouth of the alley, shaking like someone being continuously struck by lightning. His eyes were wide and his breathing came in near-hysterical gasps. Naruto's heart beat in his chest, wondering if the other trainee had gone mad, and if so, what he was supposed to do about it. Luckily, he was able to leave Neji in (slightly) more capable hands, as Ukon came rushing around the corner, breathless and windblown.

"We have to go _now!_" he shouted in anger, and Naruto distantly saw him glaring at him. "Tayuya's holding them off while I retrieve you two. Let's go!"

He gripped Neji's arm and hauled him to his feet, not caring about his mental state in the slightest. Naruto stole that opportunity to run and ignored what Ukon screamed after him. He couldn't retreat now. Sasuke was still out there; he was loose and unstoppable unless confronted with his silver slayer. He refused to give up; he had to kill him _tonight._

Naruto sprinted through alleyway after alleyway, accompanied only be daunting silence now that the battle was behind him. He left his senses wide open, searching frantically for the silent killer in the night's blackness. His chest ached with the sharp intake of the freezing winter air and his eyes stung with the coldness as he ran. Then, all of the sudden, he found that alleyway where he relived his worst nightmare. It still wasn't clicking into place that Choji was dead; it wouldn't register in his mind that he wouldn't see that bright, pudgy face, hording potato chips at the lunch table.

Why couldn't he kill Sasuke? Every time he had a chance, something to in the way. Why would fate not let him serve justice? Enough had perished beneath his fangs; why were his chances to destroy him, sabotaged in every way? Was there no divine judgment after all? Itachi was efficient at protecting his own. He made for a formidable and most irritating opponent – half the time, it was Itachi who stood between him and Sasuke.

As always, he never saw the brother coming. One second he had a perfect shot and the next, he was back-handed into the brick wall beside him, so hard he feared his neck had snapped and he was paralyzed forever. His vision swam with pink and purple dots and he lay on the cold ground, stunned for a moment. Blindly, he scrambled for his gun, and swayed into a sitting position, the world swimming around him. He trained hi gun where he thought the Uchihas were supposed to b but, even past his scrambled vision, he knew they were no longer there. He was alone with the shell of a body that used to be Choji.

For a while he just sat there and stared, trying to understand why this had happened…Why couldn't he save someone else he loved? The rest of the hunters eventually thundered into his vigil. Tayuya dragged him to his feet, yowling curses like a temperamental volcano. He heard none of what anyone aid, until they were back in the underground facility. That's when he forced himself back into reality and tried to comprehend why everyone was so furious with him. Tayuya ended up cornering him and accusing him of endangering them all with his rushed shot. She called him a lot of profane names; she said he was "reckless" and "stupid" and then condemned him to cleaning his gun.

The three older hunters had retreated to the medical room outside the vast training facility to, no doubt, discus what failures they're two students were. Naruto caught a tidbit of conversation before the thick, metal door silenced them completely. He heard Tayuya say she had killed one of the other vampires. He also heard the word "accident" being thrown around before they closed themselves off. Why were they making it sound so complicated? There was nothing "accidental" about killing those monsters. Why were they second-guessing themselves? He already felt safer now that Zaku was gone.

Thinking of the former high school bully made him draw his gaze up from where he was sitting to look at Neji, hunched in a chair against the opposite wall. Tayuya had broken past her rage enough to provide the boy with a blanket for comfort – every lioness had a soft spot for her cubs, Naruto supposed. Neji looked far less unstable but, his gaze still seemed haunted. He stared at the floor and Naruto wondered how he was interpreting his shooting of Zaku.

"Hey, Neji," he called, softly.

The sound startled the Hyuga, making him jump in his seat, and when he raised his silver eyes, he looked at Naruto like he was seeing him for the first time.

"Thank you," the blond went on, managing a tiny half smile. "You saved my life back there. I owe you, big time."

It took a few, long seconds before the vacancy left the older boy's gaze. He blinked once and stared at Naruto with an unreadable expression on his face. It was starting to discomfort the blond and his comrade's next words made him even more uneasy.

"I…I killed him…" he said, as if the event's reality was just occurring to him.

"A lot more people would be dead if you hadn't. You did the town a favor," Naruto laughed, shortly, but stopped as the memory of Choji's mangled form returned to him.

He wanted Choji in that category, of people saved from death. He wanted him to be spared from Zaku's rampage. It wasn't the first time Naruto asked himself, "How could this happen to me?"

"He was your friend…wasn't he…That boy in the alley?" Neji suddenly asked, voice feather-light, his gaze probing at Naruto curiously.

The answer he would have spoken, hit Naruto like an off rail roller coaster. Yes, Choji was his friend. He wasn't just another name on the expanding list of victims. This realization hadn't hit Naruto until Neji's had brought it up. Since he'd seen the body in the alley, it had not clicked that that was _his_ Choji laying there dead. It did now though. It hit him hard.

"Excuse me," he muttered faintly, abruptly rising from his seat, the chair legs grating against the concrete, loudly.

"He headed for the first of many doors lined against the wall. He lucked out with it being unlocked and fled inside. He walked down a long, beige hallway that led to God only knew where. He stopped midway, his blood boiling with caged emotion. That was _Choji_ back there. That was _Choji_ bleeding on the ground. He wasn't going to stand up. He wasn't going to be in school tomorrow. He was never going to be munching away on hi favorite bag of chips again. He was never going to come over for Friday game night again. He was never going to breathe again.

With a shout of outrage and despair, Naruto's fist collided with the wall, resulting in a loud thwack that vibrated against the wood. The weight of this new loss fell on him like an anvil dropped from a thirty story building top. His leg went numb and he was relying solely on the wall to keep him vertical. Choji was gone. _Choji was gone _and, all of a sudden, he had no idea how to deal with that.

* * *

_Why am I here?_

School had suddenly become a foreign landscape to Sasuke; it was an experience he had never encountered before. The mundane, mechanical routine was alien to him, as were the pale beige walls and marble, gray floor tiles. There wasn't a face he recognized in the throng that enveloped him and the high-pitched drone of the bell for classes triggered no response from him. He returned no greetings and he took no notes. He never went to his locker – he had no idea where it was – and he walked the halls for forty-five minutes while he skipped gym class.

Itachi had never come home, and Choji was still dead. These two facts fogged his mind from everything else. He had to walk to school alone (Itachi had taken the car). He had to watch the sun shine on empty sheets beside him. He had to runaway from the nothingness and hi only escape became the high school. But, there was no distraction for him there. Nothing could block out such horrible memories.

The cafeteria came close to becoming his refuge. The solitude of his "outcast table," surrounded by relentless chatter of unimportant things, almost numbed his thoughts. Almost. If he hadn't been staring directly at the table that was now haunted by his final memories of Choji, he might have been okay for a period. It was vacant, save for one seat. It pained him even more to see the tortured expression of the shy Hyuga girl.

_Why is she here?_

_ The same reason you are._

She needed an escape. She wanted a distraction. By the look on her face though – one that Sasuke was sure mirrored his own – he knew her surroundings were doing nothing to help her forget. As he stared at her from across the room, her withered gray eyes glanced up and found his. The background noise silenced in that moment of visual contact and over it, all Sasuke could hear were phantasmal wails from all the victims of this massacre. Guilt warmed in his stomach like a demonic hurricane at the sight of those eyes.

All her hope, all her joy was demolished. She was a shadow of despair and misery. All the light that had filled her smile was dead. She was completely and utterly broken. If hopelessness had a face it would be Hyuga Hinata's face.

Sasuke' world moved in slow motion. Like mist rising on the wind, she stood, her dead eyes connected with his by barely a sliver of a thread. She lingered on her feet by their haunted table for a moment longer, where Sasuke was afraid she'd fall over and never get back up. She turned though, breaking the thin veil of contact between them, and walked as if in a trance, out of the cafeteria.

Sasuke stared at the door she'd walked through as if he were in a dream. Did he go through that door and follow that lost spirit to oblivion?

_Yes_.

Noise and feeling were muffled to Sasuke a he rose. Moving was like wading through a tar pit; it took an eternity he was too familiar with to reach that door. He became detached from the world around him and when he passed under that square, unfeeling archway, some magnetic pull lead him forward. He saw nothing but empty hallways for a long time.

He saw things in shades of gray. All the color had been drained from the world, and he walked trough an endless gray labyrinth of clammy tiles and hollow halls before he found her again. Her back was to him and all was silent. No sound whatsoever reached his ears. Time froze and he felt nothing as he stared at the back of her head. He stood and waited for his sanity to collapse entirely. Is that what he sought now? Did he seek insanity, where he couldn't make sense of anything; where he was justified in not understanding? In madness, he didn't have to recognize the horrors around him as his own. In madness, he didn't have to hurt.

He knew what would send him there. Here it was before him and the time ticked by before it happened. She turned and faced him, tears staining her face, and the remainder of his sound mind fell to pieces. His senses rushed back to him; her scent washed over him with violent urgency: the sweet smell of blood beneath her skin, the salty tang of her tears, and the underlying lilac perfume, bittersweet against that face. That face…he would remember that face always. He would remember all of their face, and they would be his judges.

That face ran towards him and connected with his chest. Her frail arms wrapped around him and she made him her sanctuary. Raw, uncensored cries wailed into his shirt and he embraced her back, sharing in her grief. Everything was clear to Sasuke in that earth-shattering moment. A road stretched out before him, framed with all those lost faces, and he began walking it. There would be no turning back from this moment on. Sasuke knew what had to be done. Plans clicked together in his head; plans with results he knew would not be easily forgiven. He didn't care.

Hinata's tears bled into him. They became his fuel. Nothing would stop him from uncovering the truth now. No one would stand in his way. Not ever again. If the only way to peace, was to face madness with madness…then so be it.

* * *

"Naruto."

The blond in question jolted back into awareness. He hadn't slept the night before, too stricken by loss to find peace in slumber. He thought skipping school would help but, the Hunters' Headquarters was no better. Tayuya seemed to have no pity for him, or for Choji. He doubted she even knew they were friends. She never asked; she never sympathized. He hadn't expected her to. He didn't expect her to baby him. All day it had been repetitive drills, placing him through various situations he may come across. He took his fury out on training dummies but, it never filled the void Choji's death left in his heart.

It was around three thirty when Neji arrived after school hours and awoke Naruto from drifting to sleep during his break from training. When he looked up to his comrade, it took him a few moments to blink the fog of grief and slumber from his vision. When he did, he feared he was actually asleep and dreaming. With Neji, was a girl; a girl with long blond hair, and pale blue eyes; a girl Naruto knew.

"I said I'd find you new recruits," Neji aid, proudly. "We're in the same Bereavement Circle and I told her about the vampires. She wants to join us against them. Naruto, this is…"

"…Ino," Naruto finished for him. "Yamanaka Ino."

* * *

_You know, you pray, this can't be the way / You cry, you say, something's gotta change / And mend this porcelain heart of mine, of mine_


	23. CHAPTER 22 Prelude 12 21

**~Chapter XXII~**

_~Prelude 12/21~_

* * *

_This is what I thought / I thought you'd need me / This is what I thought / So think me naïve / I promised you a heart / You promised to keep / Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep_

* * *

Three days had gone by since Choji's passing, and within those three days, Sasuke had quietly fallen into carefully disguised madness. Everything that had happened, he meticulously catalogued into his reeling thoughts. Every face held new significance for him and he contemplated things he'd never considered before about the case. That was his new road: the Konoha Massacre – as the people were calling it. He cared and thought of nothing else. He fed off every, tiny new detail revealed from the related articles he nip-picked at each night. It was his obsession.

A funeral was held for Choji. A ceremony was held for Gekko Hayate, the Council's agent that was vanquished in the hunter shootout. Sasuke went to neither. Choji's final request haunted him but, he couldn't dedicate attention to it. He was incapable of telling his friends not to cry because he never saw them anymore. He ceased going to school after the day he watched Hinata's spirit shatter. He didn't know how she or any of the others were. He wasn't sure he cared anymore. After all, they were irrelevant to the case.

Itachi never came home. At this point, Sasuke was beginning to think he never would.

The Council sent for him on the third day. He had been expecting a summons after he blatantly disregarded Tsunade's orders to stay away from Town Centre that night. Honestly, he was surprised they took so long to contact him – the Council's favorite pastime was serving punishments. He wasn't concerned for his well-being, and if he didn't think meeting with the Council could contribute to his investigation, he wouldn't have bothered with going to meet with them. One thing he'd convinced himself of was that everyone was a suspect. The never-to-be-questioned Council had become no strangers to his suspicions.

"Hello Sasuke, thank you for coming."

Tsunade was courteous enough to greet him, which put him on this toes. She was suspiciously calm and composed. He was sure there was an atomic bomb waiting to go off beneath her casual demeanor. She was right to be furious with him – he expected nothing else. Honestly though, he didn't quite care. He walked into that court room with the sole intent to catch anything incriminating about the Council members – just as he was sure they were doing to him. Any anger or betrayal Tsunade felt towards him didn't matter. The Council wanted to prove he was the killer, just as much as he wanted to prove one of them was. That focus couldn't be smothered by such trivial things as feelings.

"I thought Uchihas came in pairs," Zabuza wryly commented from where he lounged in his seat.

"Where is your brother?" Jiraiya asked, irritably.

Sasuke had predicted they would ask about Itachi's absence. He had not come prepared with an explanation.

"Sasuke, why did you disobey me when I told you to stay away from Town Centre?" Tsunade asked into the hush following Jiraiya's question.

Sasuke glanced at her, gratefully – maybe she wasn't as pissed as he thought. She could read a lot about him, just as he could of her. He trusted her, and from the beginning she'd made it clear she was on his side. It was the other two he doubted.

"It's because of me that this nightmare began," he answered, taking the escape from talking about Itachi she had so mercifully offered. "I wanted to know why. If there was a chance of getting answers, I wanted to be there to hear them."

"I promised you'd be the first to know. I meant that Sasuke."

"Too bad now there are no answers to get," Zabuza snorted, cynical as ever.

"I suppose that's my fault too?" Sasuke retorted.

"It could be."

"Please, humor me."

"Watch yourself Uchiha. You might want to change your tone if you want to get me in your favor."

"Who says I want you in my favor?"

Zabuza chuckled, always the epitome of relaxed arrogance. He said nothing more, although Sasuke knew there was no question the Count could easily outmatch him.

"The hunters were an unforeseen complication," Jiraiya said, looking unconcerned with the whole ordeal. "Perhaps your provocation of Naruto would have spared us that disaster."

Sasuke glared at the elderly Sage but, he did not glare back. Instead he gazed down at his hand, curled around the armrest. Coward, Sasuke thought; he didn't have the guts to look at who he was accusing.

"Naruto has been an issue since he learned the truth. It was purely coincidental that he saw me that night."

"The night where you were found with Miss Haruno's blood on your hands right? What an unfortunate coincidence that he would see you and think you were the murderer."

Jiraiya brought his steely gaze up to finally meet Sasuke's. There was evident distaste there, like he had something personal against the Uchiha. Sasuke wasn't intimidated though. Just as they had summoned him for interrogation, he had come with his own accusations. Jiraiya had been too quiet about the murders, but when it came to Naruto, he spoke unopposed.

"I've given my statement about the night in question and I have nothing to change about it. You on the other hand, haven't offered any explanations."

"For what exactly am I being accused?

"Protecting Naruto when he is a clear threat to the investigation – as if the night of the ambush wasn't enough proof of that. You've demanded over and over again that Naruto be ignored when the rest of the Council would have him dealt with. Because of that, he's been growing in power and now we have an army of hunters distracting us from the main goal."

"It wouldn't be this bad if you hadn't constantly antagonized the boy. You kept giving him a reason to feel endangered so he acted to defend himself. I can't be blamed for human instinct."

"If you had addressed the issue at its birth, none of this would be happening!"

The answer behind Naruto's freedom was a key piece to the puzzle, Sasuke was sure of it. The Council's actions meshed with the actions of the killer. They reacted according to each other; every move the Council made spurred the killer to a new tactic. The only way Sasuke could solve this mystery was if he understood every tiny detail about both parties. If only he could crack Jiraiya's icy shell. He tried another approach.

"Why do you let him get away with this?" he asked Zabuza and Tsunade, black gaze darting between them. "You must know how Naruto's actions are jeopardizing the investigation. If the two of you agree that Naruto's a problem, why does his say overrule yours? Since when did our monarchy turn into a dictatorship?"

He met Tsunade's gaze, imploring her to speak against the Sage but, she couldn't. As he had seen before, something restrained her; some ancient devotion to Jiraiya kept her opinion locked away. She wanted to tell him – it flooded through her eyes – but, she just couldn't. Sasuke tried not to take it personally. Tsunade only liked him; she didn't owe him anything.

Fine then, he would have to uncover the truth on his own. His next method would tread on dangerous ground but, he knew it would be the only way to get a true reaction from Jiraiya. Sasuke focused again on the Sage, whom was glaring at him like he was a disobedient puppy that had embarrassed him in public.

"I'm assuming Shino's out 'monitoring' Naruto, right?" he started, watching the Sage like a cat intent on its favorite chew-toy.

"I'm not naïve to Naruto's actions. Shino's intel will be enough for us to work around the hunters."

"Like how it worked around the ambush? Your bug clearly isn't being as thorough as he should be. I wonder how much of a challenge he would pose if someone decided to take matters into their own hands and dispose of Naruto."

Bang. It was like the echo of a shotgun blast when he let the threat go. He felt Tsunade's gaze scalding into his skull, shocked by his threat and silently urging him to shut the hell up. From his peripheral, he could sense Zabuza was trying not to explode in laughter – he found the Uchiha's defiance refreshing. Neither of those two concerned Sasuke though. Before him, Jiraiya had finally been drawn out of his indifferent façade. He had Sasuke fixed in a vicious glare, leaning forward like a wolf preparing to lunge into battle.

_Now I've got you._

"Naruto is not to be harmed," the Sage warned, speaking dangerously slow.

"What's to stop anyone from trying?" Sasuke countered just as venomously.

"The wrath of the Council."

"Don't you mean the wrath of _you_. As I've said, the rest of the Council would prefer Naruto gone as well. If you're the only thing in the way…Well, that doesn't account for much."

"Uchiha Sasuke, if you so much as breathe on him, you will be tried with high treason and face the penalty of death!"

"I'm already dead," he laughed. "You might want to try a different approach."

"You won't be coming back this time."

"I wonder what Naruto tastes like. Probably salty, what with all the ramen noodles he thrives on. I prefer my meals sweet but, I think I'll be able to enjoy him regardless."

Even when he sensed it coming, Sasuke couldn't have estimated the force of Jiraiya's punch. Decades of well-tempered power sent him catapulting through the air until his body tore into the farthest wall. Dust and bricks surrounded him, his neck was broken, and his jaw was dislocated. He was yanked up by his shirt as Jiraiya came at him again, and heaved into the bricks that hadn't been crushed to nothing. Liquid ice slid down the side of his face. It was his blood.

Sasuke looked into the face of his foe. It was contorted into a gruesome snarl, fangs longer than he'd ever seen extended and eyes blazing a thick, bloody red. Sasuke finally understood why Naruto saw them as monsters.

"I will rip off your head before I let you kill him," Jiraiya seethed, voice tainted with a sound like the Devil's voice.

"What is he to you?" Sasuke hissed back, just as vehemently.

"It doesn't matter," he spat, pressing him against the wall so hard that the bricks started to crack. "Just know that if you come within a hundred feet of him I will put you in the ground for eternity."

He was back on his throne a second later, leaving Sasuke to catch himself from being released, alone.

"You are dismissed."

Russet eyes ablaze, Sasuke met each individual gaze in turn. Tsunade was on her feet, her arm outstretched to bar Shizune from aiding him in his conflict (the assistant had been obediently silent in the shadows until then). He saw disappointment in the Countess's eyes, which left a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was sparked interest in Zabuza's focused gaze. The red of Jiraiya's eyes remained unforgiving.

He left unsatisfied. He sped through the halls of the courthouse, beating his brain for a logical connection between Jiraiya and Naruto. He rolled his neck, testing to make sure it was mending properly, and put his jaw back in place. Then he fingered the icy liquid on his face. The wound had healed but, the blood remained. Even after suffering that humiliation, he still left empty-handed.

Why did Jiraiya have the Council muzzled? Sasuke was disgusted with Tsunade. She was never one to be silenced without giving someone a face full of broken bones first. How could she let herself be tamed so easily? And Zabuza…What was keeping him so far in the background? He was the freaking war lord! He should have been on the frontlines of this whole thing.

The danger he had put himself in was a minor concern for Sasuke. Threatening Naruto like that was as close to a confession as he could get, even if it was without merit. It was too late to eliminate Naruto; his influence stretched too far. This Huntress person sent more and more soldiers to fill the hunter army. With the three already in town and three more on the way, there was no stopping them. Killing Naruto would do nothing but motivate them more. He knew that but, he needed to create that murderous illusion to draw Jiraiya out. There was a connection more than him valuing human life. It could mean nothing to the massacre, or it could answer everything. Either way, Sasuke needed to know if he was ever going to put this puzzle together.

Then, just as he was turning another corner of the courthouse, that missing puzzle piece fell in his lap when he nearly ran over the phantasmal form of Haku, the Oracle. The mist-like apprentice stared at him as he came to a stop, his silvery eyes draped with a blank canvas to conceal the flickers of time within.

"What?" Sasuke growled when it seemed Haku wasn't going to do anything to initiate any form of conversation.

"Under direct order from Lord Zabuza, I am to deliver to you some information you may find…helpful."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, skeptically. What could Zabuza possibly want to give him and how the hell was anything the Count did "helpful?" So far, the hulking mass of muscle was all talk and zero action. He was as useful as a calculator to a caveman.

"What is it?" Sasuke sighed – best to just get him out of the way so he could finally leave that horrible place.

Like a gentle breeze over a lake's surface, Haku glided closer to him, his mouth suddenly against Sasuke's ear, whispering, "Lord Zabuza said you wanted to know why Lord Jiraiya was protecting Uzumaki Naruto."

_No way_, was all Sasuke could think. _No way_ was Zabuza revealing that forbidden truth to him. What did the Count have to gain from releasing this secret to him, when even Tsunade couldn't?

"Why is Zabuza telling me this?" he verbalized his thoughts.

"In his words, he said, 'This game is at a standstill and I tire of waiting for the next move. It's time to take the initiative.'"

Sasuke smirked. That sounded like genuine Momochi Zabuza philosophy. He would be a fool not to be on the receiving end of it now.

"Alright, let's have it. Why is the esteemed Sage so intent on keeping a lowly mortal alive?"

"It is because Lord Jiraiya is Uzumaki Naruto's godfather."

* * *

"No, no, that won't do. Spread your feet apart. If you miss, your feet need to be clear of each other so you don't trip on them when you're running for your life. Try again."

Ukon was sweet on Ino. Naruto was sure of it. Maybe it was because she was a girl – he often thought he felt lecherous vibes from the twins. Maybe it was because they respected her. On her first day, Ino had picked up her gun and fired a few rounds at a training dummy, getting closer to the bulls-eye each shot more than he or Neji ever had. Being raised with an ex-police officer father that loved weekend hunting trips, she had been handling guns all her life. Naruto wasn't jealous - quite the opposite actually; he was very impressed. Her smooth progression through the training process was a welcome surprise.

Naruto was reminded of his own roller-coaster training ride as the punching bag he'd been ordered to pummel, collided with his stomach. The breath went out of him in a whoosh and he glared around the object, swinging like a pendulum, at his own prison warden of a tutor.

"Quit making googly eyes at Barbie over there and get back to work!" she demanded, eyes fixed on a hand-held video game in her grasp.

"Googly-eyes? Are you kidding? I was just admiring her technique!"

"I'm sure you were."

Naruto punched the bag at her in retaliation but, she caught it with her foot, eyes never leaving her game. She nudged the bag back to him and he resumed his rigorous pounding of the heavy sack, grudgingly, following her combat directions like the figure in her game. His skin glistened from sweat and his black top was drenched. He'd been going at this for over an hour when he would have much rather been working with a slayer.

It had been two days since Choji's funeral. Naruto had attended with his weapon in his coat. If Sasuke dared to show his face and defile the memory of his friend, he would be prepared. The Uchiha wasn't in attendance and - Naruto noticed - neither was Shikamaru. He scanned the whole cemetery but never found the deceased's best friend.

Although Lee and Kiba were distraught enough for the entire funeral procession, Hinata's mourning face had been what triggered the biggest tug of his heart. She looked deader than any of the corpses in the surrounding graves. She made eye contact with no one; spoke to no one. Her silence made her invisible, lost in the sea of black-veiled faces.

That was the last time he saw any of his friends. He had practically dropped out of high school to devote his time to avenging Sakura. Every minute he was haunted with those distraught faces. How were they now?

The punching bag slammed into his gut again when his blows started to weaken with his thoughts of concern. Tayuya slammed her game down and stood to her full-height, fixing him in a vicious glare.

"You're the one who called us here, Runt. I didn't drop everything to come babysit some scatter-brained imbecile. If you want to kill some vampires then focus! Or is this just not that important to you anymore?"

It was always a challenge to refrain from barking back an argument with Tayuya. Her hot words always lured a response that he had to smother. One thing he had learned from Tayuya's harsh teaching was control. You needed that the most when fighting a vampire. Tayuya was a good teacher for that. His blue eyes hardened and he raised his fists as his answer.

"Prove it," the woman growled and marched away.

Naruto watched her go, reminding himself that there was a reason she acted the way she did. She was doing what was necessary to make him a good hunter – at least he hoped that was it. He quickly turned his attention back to his target, determined to keep focused. He would make Konoha a safe place for his friends. That took precedence over their feelings.

No sooner had he returned to beating the swinging bag, when a loud, metallic banging resounded through the complex. All movement within halted and only the echo from the sound remained. It came from the main door.

Naruto's heart fluttered in panic and his eyes quickly sought out Tayuya, now across the room where Sakon and Neji had been sparring. The six of them were the only ones with access to the underground facilities. Who the hell could be knocking? Tayuya wasn't concerned though, glancing at her watch and rolling her eyes in exasperation, although a small smile was tugging at her mouth. She fingered the coded lock and heaved the door open.

"About damn time you showed up. You're late," she sighed and Naruto watched in dumbfounded amazement as a real, genuine smile lit up her sharp features.

"We wouldn't be Sandstorm if we were predictable now would we?"

It was a woman who spoke and as she did, she stepped into the complex and fearlessly gave Tayuya a hug…one that she happily returned. Naruto thought he had to be dreaming. Tayuya _did not _hug…Ever! There were two men with the lady that dared to do the impossible, and the twins moved as one to greet them.

"Since when do we expect company?" Neji asked Naruto as he came across the room, silver eyes fixed warily on the newcomers.

Naruto shook off his disbelief at seeing Tayuya _hugging_ and _laughing_ and tried to find an answer to Neji's question. He finally remembered talk of "reinforcements" but…

"Hey! Cadets! Front and center!"

Tayuya's brusque, drill sergeant commands returned in a heartbeat and exploded across the room. The three scurried over to meet them.

"Lunchmeats, meet Sandstorm: the finest squad in the vampire hunting profession. This is Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara."

They were a fearsome looking trio, decorated in studs, spikes, chains, and black leather; Naruto thought they took the stereotypical Hollywood vampire hunter look to the extreme. Temari and Kankuro wore identical, devilish smiles, eyes fixed on the hunters in training like hawk eyes fixed on mouse prey. Naruto expected no less from hunters that could break so easily through Tayuya's adamantine shield.

The one named Gaara drew Naruto's attention the most, though. He emanated a whole different definition of intimidation, cut off from his two colleagues as if by the blade of a guillotine. His eyes were a blank seafoam green. Not a single emotion played within them. They analyzed everything like a retna scanner. There was no hospitality on his face, just cold calculation. His entire being emanated frosty contemplation. It felt so familiar…

"_These_ are the new recruits?"

Temari marched over to the teenagers in question, the multiple chain belts dangling from her skirt, clashing together. She stooped forward in front of Ino first, startling the younger girl as she entered an invasive proximity.

"Where did you find this one: Pilates class? How do these noodle arms even pick up a gun? Do you have any muscle on you? You're a stick! And you" - she advanced on Neji – "where's the meat on your bones? When was the last time you went to a gym? And what's with the preppy rich kid clothes? Why would you wear that to a battlefield? And as for you…"

Temari's electric, ivy-colored eyes swung towards Naruto like a cobra's swiveling head. Her imposing, spiked combat boots pounded on the hard floor as she approached him, overpowering his vision with her black ensemble.

"You've got an awfully arrogant aura about you. I bet you're the kid that had the balls to call Huntress a leech. How stupid are you? Paranoia will get you killed, idiot. And don't go thinking that since you called everyone together, you're the boss. Got it?"

Naruto blinked once and she was gone, marching over to her team a second later, a harsh firewall crashing between her back and the cadets' faces. What. The. Hell? And he thought Tayuya was bad! Where did she get off barking at them like some rabid pit-bull? She just got there and she already had low expectations before she even saw them in action! Great, some reinforcement, he growled contemptuously to himself.

Kankuro and the twins were snickering in amusement at the woman's crass inspection of the cadets and Tayuya was trying not to look so pleased with the insults. Naruto told himself not to take it personally. That was just the way the sadistic bastards all were.

"That bad, huh?" Tayuya chuckled to her apparent friend.

"There's a lot of tweaking to be made. Come on, Ty, I can't believe you haven't gotten farther with them," Temari replied, leaning heavily against the wall and crossing her arms.

"If you think this is bad, you should have seen them when they first started out. Compared to that, I think I deserve some credit for getting them this far within such a short timeframe."

"The girl just showed up a few days ago," Ukon said, not so surprisingly rising to Ino's defense. "As luck would have it, she does know her way around guns. It's a useful bonus."

"You've got quiet an odd haul," Temari sighed, that wild gaze slicking over the three of them again.

"Odd towns birth odd people," Kankuro spoke up, looking at the "cadets" more passively. "What's the deal with this place anyway? I haven't heard of such a rampage in decades."

"It's the million dollar question. Your guess is as good as ours," Tayuya breathed, scratching the back of her head.

"Huntress did fill you in right?" Sakon asked.

"Of course. That doesn't mean I get what the hell is going down on this crazy train."

"What's not to get?" Naruto interrupted, unable to remain silent any longer. "We know who the killers are: the Uchihas!"

Suddenly, eyes that felt like the steel of an assassin's knife against his throat, focused upon him, raising every hair on his body. He met the deadened eyes of the silent, stationary statue of Gaara, focused upon him and flooding his vision. The sounds bouncing around his ears fell to a muted hum as he was paralyzed by that numb gaze. Like the sky before the release of a winter storm, there was ominous darkness in those pale orbs, and for some reason Naruto felt familiarly trapped in their icy clutches.

His gaze unsettled Naruto: depthless and unfeeling. His milk white expression was impossible to dissect. Not a single emotion wrinkled his skin; not a single thought was visible on his face. It was disturbing and frightening. Was it deadly intent that he looked at him with? How could that be? And why had the Uchihas, of all subjects, drawn the attention of the recluse boy in the shadows?

Gaara broke the ocular connection soon thereafter, his eyes turning to look at nothing again. Even released from the spell-binding stare, Naruto still felt endangered, and not just by intimidation like he had felt when the trio first stepped in. Why did that silence, that unnerving calm, make him feel so threatened? Where had he felt it before?  
The heat of his mentor's sunburst eyes stung him back to reality. He yanked himself away from Gaara, trying not to tremble from the cold his gaze had left settled over him. Temari and Kankuro were staring at him with unreadable expressions and Tayuya glared at him venomously – she obviously hadn't expected him to bring up the murderous duo. He didn't understand why the truth had suddenly become such a taboo, or why Sandstorm had reacted in such a strange way.

He watched as Temari turned from him and drew Tayuya's bone-charring glower. They seemed to share a silent conversation where they both agreed to dismiss the younger participants. The red-head's screaming for them to "drag their asses out of there" shed enough clarity on that silent conversation. Ino and Neji didn't hesitate to high-tail it out of there but, Naruto complied more bitterly. He hated being excluded from hunter discussion, especially now that he knew they would be discussing Itachi and Sasuke and he had no idea why.

The twins held the door open for them, smiling and waving in perfect synchronization – they were always the least perturbed by these happenings.

"Practice that kick," Sakon said to Neji.

"Practice that stance," Ukon said to Ino.

"Don't get killed," they both said to Naruto.

He glared at them, their wicked smiles never faltering. Then, he glanced back catching that pale face framed in red hair, like blood on virgin snow, before the metal door finally cut it off and condemned him to the outside. The chill continued to linger.

"How rude can you get?" Ino muttered into the eerie silence afterwards, self-consciously rubbing her arms that Temari had accused of being too thin.

"That certainly wasn't what I expected from 'the finest squad in the hunting profession,'" Neji spat, shoving his hands in his pockets and skulking to the stairs.

"Don't worry," Ino piped, trailing after him and attempting to ease his insecurity over Temari's comments. "The last word I would use to describe you is 'scrawny' Neji."

"I don't know where she got that from," Naruto snorted, following after them and trying to distract himself from his uneasiness by consoling his equally frazzled comrades. "I haven't beaten you at arm wrestling once."

Neji chuckled at that as the three of them ascended the dark staircase and more characteristically said, "And you never will, Naruto."

Ino laughed a little at the competitive, childish tone and soon, the other two boys were laughing too. None of them did much of that anymore. They reached the top of the stairs and nudged the door open into the dark book store. Outside, it was twilight, the pink sky hidden behind gray winter clouds.

"It's so cold…" Ino said, pulling her velvet coat around her as they stepped onto the sidewalk.

"Feels like snow will come sooner than usual," Neji mused.

The three stood silently on the frigid sidewalk, the brief teasing between them lost again as mutual discomfort threaded its way through them at the thought of such cold in November.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Neji spoke up first, managing a small smile of farewell for his comrades. "Get home safe."

"You too," Naruto replied, returning the smile.

The Hyuga nodded and quietly departed. The two blonds watched his back until he was out of sight. Ino turned to Naruto and smiled somewhat awkwardly. He did the same.

"So um…Will you be good getting home alone?" he asked.

"Yeah! Sure…You?"

"I'll be fine, thanks."

"Good…."

The awkwardness enclosed around them. Naruto didn't know Ino well, and the few words he had ever spoken to her had been to defend his relationship with Sakura – something she had always been opposed to. Otherwise, they never really interacted at all…or got along very well.

"Well…I'll see you tomorrow," she said and stalked off.

He watched her until she was gone from view. Then, he finally abandoned the book store, his mind swimming with countless thoughts, stimulated by the sharp, frosty air.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Naruto pressed himself deeper into the dark orange warmth his coat provided. The slayer strapped within lent him comfort as it pressed against his side, ready to spring forth at the slightest threat. He hoped it was the same case for Ino's and Neji's weapons. Naruto would never forget the terror on the Hyuga's face as he stared at Zaku's corpse. The more he thought about it, the more Naruto realized how lucky of a shot that was – how lucky _he _was.

Neji had pulled the trigger on pure instinct; there was no control behind it. Would Neji be able to keep that luck if he couldn't overcome his fear? What about Ino? When Naruto had revealed the identity of the killer as her – and every other girl's – crush, he could tell she was devastated beneath the strong front she set forth. Could she really handle facing the nightmares pitted against them?

Naruto's thoughts wandered to his friends – his true friends: naïve and innocent, trapped in an endless cycle of death and deceit. How were they all, now that Choji was dead? What was their sacred cafeteria table like, now that he was gone? He should go back to school, he chided himself. He should arrange a date for them to hang out, just so he could see how they were doing.

He sighed, breath materializing as a pale gray cloud before him. Through the mist blown back at him, he glanced up ahead to the bus stop. The sidewalks were fairly empty: a few late wanderers passed here and there and a lonely homeless-looking person sat on the bus bench, hood up and shivering in the cold.

Naruto sat down on the other end of the bench, staring at the vacant road ahead. His thoughts drifted back to the "reinforcements." Why had they reacted so strangely when he brought up the Uchihas? Did they know something about them, perhaps? Tayuya and the twins hadn't seemed too. Maybe he would ask Huntress when he got home…

"For someone who hates reading, you sure do spend a lot of time in that book store."

Naruto startled at the voice. His eyes swept to the side; it came from the stranger on the other end of the bench. He tensed his hand hovering discreetly over the trigger of his gun. His razor edged eyes gored into the hooded figure.

"Who skips school to hang out in a book store, and such a crappy one at that?"

The person turned towards him so he could see the face of the voice. His hand slipped away from the trigger instantly and his typical, grinning Naruto mask concealed the killer instinct on his face.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing down here? I've been wondering where you were. How are you doing, man?"

This was an odd turn of events. Of all the people he feared encountering in that part of town Shikamaru was not one of them. What was going on? Why was the sloth-like boy down here? …And why had he seemed to be following Naruto?

Shikamaru was pale and looked sickly – more than usual. Dark rings framed his eyes, which were like hollow tunnels leading to nowhere. The boy was often disinterested and monotone but, this was different. Grief had a way of transforming people into the most unbelievable doppelgangers.

"Where have you been?" the brunette asked him and something about his expression made it sound accusatory. "Why aren't you in school?"

"Why should I be? I've lost a lot of people this past month. I think I deserve some space. Don't you feel the same?"

Naruto tried to put the words gently. He was glad to see his friend – especially after his absence at the funeral. However, this conversation was strange. Shikamaru hadn't answered him. What was he doing there? Naruto held the opposing gaze, concerned with how vacant it seemed. Those eyes were evasive, pressing any emotions to their tunnel walls where Naruto couldn't see. Why was that? Why did he sense…mistrust?

"Shikamaru…are you alright? Choji was – "

"Like a brother to me, yeah. Brothers are supposed to look after each other, and I didn't. I couldn't do anything for Choji in life but, I'm sure as hell not going to do nothing while he's dead."

The air turned electric, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. That sounded way too familiar; this whole situation felt like déjà vu: meeting near the training headquarters, insinuating facing off against something, and that empty gaze, outlined with promises of revenge. Had he figured it out, like Neji and himself had?

"What made you come down here, Shikamaru?" Naruto asked, searching for substantial proof that they were on the same wavelength.

Shikamaru's gaze narrowed, not looking at Naruto as a comrade like Neji had. Naruto thought he saw confliction in the dark brown holes but, he couldn't tell what the conflict was between. All that was clear for him to read from that expression was that he was being looked at as a friend lost, not a friend kept.

"I didn't come here for the reason you did."

He knew. He knew what was under the shop. He knew _why_ it was there. He knew _what _had killed Choji, but how? And why did it seem he was in opposition of it? Shikamaru stood up, the cold twilit air feeling more prominent with the way his old friend looked at him…like he was a traitor.

"You're wrong you know," he said. "…About everything."

He turned his back on Naruto and walked away. Naruto couldn't say anything to bring him back.

* * *

_This is what I brought you / This you can keep / This is what I brought / You may forget me / I promised you my heart / Just promise to sing ./ Kiss my eyes and lay me to sleep_


	24. CHAPTER 23 Sound of Madness

**~Chapter XXIII~**

_~Sound of Madness~_

* * *

_Yeah I get it you're an outcast / Always under attack / Always coming in last / Bringing up the past / No one owes you anything / I think you need a shotgun blast / A kick in the ass / So paranoid / Watch your back_

* * *

_Godfather eh?_

Sasuke had to admit that the truth had blind-sided him. Family ties was not on his list of possibilities for Jiraiya's and Naruto's connection. A human and a vampire being related – even if not directly – had seemed too outlandish to be convincing; it still was. Haku and Zabuza had provided no further details to make the relationship believable. Even without supporting evidence though, Sasuke could understand. The Sage's ferociousness during their meeting earlier could contribute enough proof. Naruto was Jiraiya's responsibility after all. They boy – for whatever reason – had been left in his care…Huh. So the old battle axe had some honor in him after all.

Frigid November air blew into the lobby, two floors beneath where he sat, contemplating. The pent up turmoil pulsing through Naruto's veins was always very audible, pounding up through fifty feet of concrete and steel beams like an uncontained drumbeat. When Sasuke learned the truth, something cleared in the back of his mind but, was quickly filled with a hazardous tumor that spread throughout his thoughts. Family was everything – he knew that better than anyone. If family was everything, then what would a vampire hunter do when he knew he was related to a vampire?

Sasuke had to know, even when being their in Naruto's apartment after "the Council" forbade it was an eternal death sentence. Also, he had his own caged aggression he yearned to exert over a certain blond-haired nuisance.

The footsteps plodded up each bundle of stairs between floors, louder the closer they came. The boy's stench burned the inside of his nose as he ascended the staircase that led to his door. He grimaced in disgust. Mortals could be so foul.

The footsteps halted. The key clicked in the lock.

In swung the door.

Even with all his training and the mantra "expect the unexpected" branded in his brain, shock still bull-dozed into Naruto when he found Sasuke sitting in his apartment. His smile was wickedly delighted when his garnet eyes captured him. Even sitting in the weathered old arm chair, turned to face the door by his command, he was like a venomous prince. Legs crossed and his face resting against his knuckles he looked as comfortable as if he were in his own castle.

"I suppose assuring you that I 'come in peace' would be a waste of breath," the Uchiha sighed.

The hunter nudged the door shut, the fires of Hell in his glare. The vampire's smirk deepened.

"Good, because you know how much I hate lying."

He unfolded from his chair. Naruto's slayer snapped up to bar his path. Sasuke took no notice of it, his red gaze always locked with Naruto's blue one.

"I don't know if you're stupid or suicidal," Naruto chuckled. "Didn't you learn your lesson the last time you came here?"

"On the contrary, I learned quite a lot."

Sasuke inhaled, haughtily exaggerating his ability to gag on the pungent scent in the air. Naruto's teeth ground together but, his heart rate never changed. Sasuke noticed that it had barely faltered, even when he was surprised to see him. His shoot-first instincts were maturing; he was gaining more control. Impressive.

"Why aren't you on the ground, sniffling like the rabid animal you are?" Naruto spat.

"Because you're little Italian seasoning has its limits. Don't you know? No defense is perfect."

Sasuke bolted forward like a Thoroughbred let out of the starting gate. Expecting him to blur into the atmosphere, Naruto readied himself for vampiric defense but, a half second too late, he realized Sasuke wasn't moving at the speed he was capable of. He fired but, Sasuke gripped his gun wielding hand, redirecting the silver bullet to the ceiling. His arm twisted and the gun was pried from his grasp. He was pinned to the wall, Sasuke's nails in his wrist and his gun against his head.

It had happened fast but, not with the speed to defy time and space like every other moment he'd faced Sasuke. The maneuver had been executed with the agile swiftness of a highly trained martial artist – not average but a human pace nonetheless. The silver felt as cold as Sasuke's own skin when pressed against his own. Triumph shone like dancing wildfire in his unmoving ruby stare.

"You should be dead," the hunter snarled.

"And miss out on my payback?" the vampire purred.

"Why isn't it working?"

His mind was reeling, drawing in as many details he could use to his advantage. Keep him talking, Naruto coached himself. It was (physically) _possible_ to beat Sasuke now that they were on the (relatively) same level of strength. The vampire may not have been reduced to a helpless mound on the floor but, he wasn't superhuman and impenetrable either.

"The thing about garlic," Sasuke answered him, "is that it's an allergy. Naturally, there's always medication for those. Turns out, mine is just a full stomach."

"What innocent stranger did you mow down for that this time?"

The impish, deceptive delight in Sasuke's eyes flashed to something Naruto could better identify – something dangerous and predatory; furious like a bloody tempest.

"That's another thing I hate," came the low, lethally cold response. "Repetition, repetition, repetition; how many times have I told you and how many times will I keep telling you? It's the same. Damn. Answer."

With each word the gun jammed against his forehead, jerking his skull against the wall each time. It was a degrading sensation – feeling so trapped. In each of their frays he'd never been completely powerless. Even if he'd only had a sliver of a defense, there was always something. He had nothing now. He had one free arm that could do little. He could punch the bastard in the face but risked swallowing a bullet. He could try and get the gun again but – as was already proven – Sasuke was still stronger and faster than him, even when not acting with a vampire's ability. His only solution was to watch and wait for an opening.

"I learned something new about you," Sasuke went on, abandoning the replay of accusation and denial, eager to drop his bomb on the foolish hunter. "It's something I think even you deserve to know…I didn't realize you had a godfather."

Contempt glimmered in the lapis glare that Sasuke found interesting. Naruto already had misgivings about him? Oh, this would be sweeter than he had hoped.

"Why would you know anything about _him_?"

The word dripped with distaste, like the utterance of "him" was a vulgar swear word. Sasuke felt the boy's body tense, knowing nothing the vampire said ever left him pleased. He was preparing for the worst. Worst didn't even begin to describe this information, Sasuke thought sadistically. He leaned closer, relishing the spurts of fear he could sense he was drawing from Naruto. He always held that glare, soaking up every hateful detail. He would cherish this moment, greedily marking his revenge. He would make the boy hurt just as much as he had hurt him the last time he was there.

"Your godfather, Jiraiya? He's a vampire. Just. Like. Me."

He relished every articulation, popping them out like pills. Vengeance was his addiction and twisted bliss was his reward. As rage and betrayal once more came to a boil in Naruto's eyes, so did Sasuke's sick satisfaction.

"Liar!" Naruto exploded, wildfire on his tongue. "That's all you do is lie, lie, _lie_! You don't know anything! You don't know him, or me, or anything about us! You're just a lying bastard!"

Naruto's rage got in the driver's seat and without any concern for his own life he grappled for the slayer. His free hand whipped up and clasped the gleaming barrel, shoving it out of alignment with his head. Sasuke never fired – even on accident – and when Naruto twisted his other hand free of his clutches, the vampire responded by throwing all his weight into his shoulder, pile-driving it into Naruto's chest. The boy's teeth knocked together and he lost his breath enough to get stunned for a moment. He was surprised when Sasuke twisted the gun from both their grasps and it dropped to the floor where it was promptly kicked far out of reach. Equally surprising was when Sasuke pushed away, releasing him in the process.

Naruto darted away from the flat surface, getting to a clearer space in the living area where he would be less likely to get pinned again. There was a dangerously playful twinkle in Sasuke's bloody red eyes and every muscle in the hunter's body coiled into a fighting stance. He glanced once at the silver gleaming on the carpet. Sasuke made sure he was standing between him and it.

No matter how much he tried to convince himself, Naruto couldn't believe that Sasuke wasn't lying about his godfather. Sasuke had lied to him, about everything. Now though – from the moment he'd opened the door – he knew Sasuke had come here to avenge the hell he'd put him through the last time they'd met. He knew from the crooked gleam in his eyes that he had a weapon to aid him in his payback. He knew from looking in those liar' eyes, so close to his own, that if there was a truth that could hurt him he would use it. He flinched when Sasuke moved. The Uchiha shifted and mockingly mimicked his stance.

"Let's see what the hunters have really taught you."

Naruto's thundering heart fluttered then slowed. An unnerving calm suddenly fell over him. Months of catalogued techniques and strategies unfolded in his thoughts, and Tayuya's drill sergeant commands emerged in the back of his head, shouting so loud, it was almost like she was in the room with him.

'_Alright runt! Today's your last chance to prove yourself. Do a half-ass job on that leech and you're going to get my foot so far up your ass you'll never see straight again! Now move out soldier!'_

Running on an automatic engine built up from months of rigorous practice, Naruto took a quick breath then, barreled forward. Sasuke's smirk only stretched wider.

'_High right hook!'_: Naruto threw his power into a fist aimed at his head. Sasuke's arm whipped up as a shield and took the blow instead. His punch was like a feather hitting concrete.

'_Low left hook!'_: Naruto aimed for the gut. So did Sasuke. Naruto missed and Sasuke's hit was purposely barely a pinch of pain. He was mocking him; toying with him.

'_Double center!'_: No opening.

'_Leg sweep!'_: Naruto ducked down and struck out, his shin connecting with Sasuke's. It was like kicking the trunk of a pine tree: he didn't budge. Sasuke's next move was too complex for him to keep up with. He was aware of the other purposely falling over his leg as he rose and his arm hooked around his neck. Then, in a whirlwind of motion, Sasuke had him on his back, crouched over him with one hand against his chest to keep him down.

"Come on vampire slayer! Is that _really_ all you've got?"

Naruto's teeth clenched together but, he didn't play into Sasuke's distracting jeers. Instead, he slid down and grasped the collar of his shirt. Using a move the revenant had gotten over on him in their last fight, he heaved him up and over his head. When he was free of the weight, Naruto spun into a low crouch, fist at the ready. Sasuke was already on his feet, beckoning with an outstretched hand for him to try again.

He answered with a series of furious blows, Tayuya's scalding voice coaching him and rising in fury each time he was blocked or missed. No matter what tricks he tried, Sasuke outwitted them all, teasing him with false openings and mocking him with contained punches – as if he wasn't good enough to take the full force of his blows.

Sasuke couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much _fun_, dancing around the room in a violent tango. As if the priceless look on Naruto's face as he revealed Jiraiya's identity wasn't satisfaction enough, now he got to kick his sorry ass! He loved the boy's futile attempts. He loved flaunting the fact that he didn't have to be invincible to beat the hunter down. This was so worth the wrath of the Council.

It felt like hours that he soaked up the feeble blows and joyously struck back. This was just play fighting though, and after a long series of failed punches and effortless dodges, Sasuke thirsted to deliver pain. Lightning fast, he swatted Naruto's last blow away and brought his leg up, foot connecting with the boy's stomach. The hunter was propelled back, passing through the doorframe into the bedroom. He stumbled and caught himself on the mattress.

Sasuke stopped on the other side of the frame, mercifully allowing the hunter a moment to catch his breath. The boy was sweat-drenched and breathing heavily but, defiantly kept his gaze pin-pointed on Sasuke. The vampire paid him no mind, scanning the room from the outside and bitterly recalling each spot he'd crawled upon the last time he was there.

"Having doubts?" Naruto spat between breaths. "Don't tell me you're paranoid about one little room."

Coolly, his gaze slicked back to the blond annoyance. His unyielding ire used to impress Sasuke but, now it just grated on his nerves like nails on a chalkboard. His eyes twitched once in irritation before he took three sweeping steps forward and punched the boy in the face. He heard something pop and blood splattered against Naruto's lips. The sight brought forth hideous recollections of the last night he'd faced Naruto. He thought of the shockingly vile taste of his own blood on his tongue each time Naruto's foot collided with his ribcage. He thought of the searing, indescribable agony when the bullet drove through his shoulder. He thought that it was about time Naruto felt the same.

Sasuke's hands held Naruto's shoulders, gripping him in place, and before the hunter could break in a swing, the vampire's knee slammed into his gut. The blonde doubled over and Sasuke threw his hunched form to the floor. The hunter caught his breath and scrambled for a foothold but, was denied an upright position by a fierce blow to his side by Sasuke's heel.

Naruto bit his lip to stop himself from crying out. That hurt like hell but, he refused to give Sasuke the satisfaction of hearing him scream. Instead, he glared up at him, courting him into trying it again. Before he'd even finished issuing the silent challenge, Sasuke was on him again, rewarding his defiance with five more harsh kicks in rapid succession. The cries of pain strangled in his throat but, still he refused to let them out.

Sasuke's very soul burned with lusting vengeance, sated drop by drop with each primal strike. How many times had Naruto kicked him when he was down the last time? How many would it take now before he was satisfied? However many it was, he knew it didn't matter. All of this cut-throat violence was pointless anyway. It was just an excuse for him to not return to an empty house; an excuse to not face those bloody bodies in the pictures; an excuse not to think about all the friends he'd made who were suffering because of him and Naruto.

The hunter's side was numb by the time the Uchiha quit kicking him. Darkness fringed the outer rims of his vision and clasping consciousness was like catching mist. Each time he thought he felt it, it started slipping away. He didn't know how he held onto it or how he didn't choke on his own blood. No matter how much it hurt though, he couldn't give up. Half-clouded eyes twitched around in search of the gun Sasuke had robbed him of. There were people he still had to protect, he scolded himself, and he heard Tayuya fuming, _'Don't expect me to do it all myself!' _ It wasn't just Sasuke endangering the people left that he cared about. It was Itachi, and it was Dosu, and it was half the Konoha population. If he gave up now, the hunters would avenge him with Sasuke's extermination and quit. There was more he had to do than that…but he couldn't find the slayer.

"This is what you did to me the last night I was here, he faintly heard Sasuke say, like he was speaking to him from very far away. "I hope you're satisfied. Is it as painful as you had hoped it was for me?"

Before he could respond, Sasuke's long fingers knotted in Naruto's unkempt hair and he dragged him across the room as if he were a potato sack. A stream of weak, vile curses accompanied Naruto's feeble clawing and flailing but, none of his erratic motions affected Sasuke. His bruised side screamed at his efforts to escape, hindering him all the more severely.

When they reached the small bathroom tucked away in the back of the room, Sasuke heaved the hunter to his feet and mercilessly slammed his head into the bathroom mirror. Naruto grit his teeth to contain a shout of pain but never stopped attempting to struggle. One hand managed to clutch the one in his hair (much to his injuries' discontent) but, the other was immobilized against his back by Sasuke's free hand. After that they were stuck, Naruto tense and occasionally jerking to escape and Sasuke bracing himself to stay in control (it wasn't too hard).

"Sucks to be the victim, doesn't it?" the vampire hissed, talking to the boy's shattered reflection.

"Did you tell that to all those people you killed?" Naruto coughed, hardly able to speak.

"I'm glad I wasn't the one that wanted too."

"Is it really that easy to lie so much?"

"You tell me. You've been lying to everyone for months: about where you are during school, what you're doing in that book shop, who you've been accusing…"

"How can you keep denying it when I _saw_ you!"

"You never saw anything!" Sasuke shouted suddenly, body trembling in unsuppressed anger. "Did you see me tearing out their throats? No. Did you see me running my claws through their flesh? No!"

"I didn't need to!"

"You're such an idiot!"

Violently, Sasuke threw Naruto down on the floor, back into the bedroom, the broken glass of the mirror falling on the tiled floor like ice. Blood trickled down Naruto's face as he inched his way back against the floor, eyes always on Sasuke's barely staying open – he couldn't keep this up.

"You ruined everything for me!" Sasuke screamed at him, unable to control his emotions any longer. "I was going to be happy! I had a shot at a normal life! I was going to have friends, go to school, have fun, and get to be a teenager again! Why did you have to go and ruin all of that!"

"You betrayed me!"

The hateful and yet, hurt words stopped both of them. Naruto glowered at him from the floor, new vigor jump-starting his battered body and blazing with betrayal and venomous loathing. Sasuke's own gaze glared back, poisonous but, held on a firm rein. For once, the insignificant rat's words had captured his attention and he was ready to listen. Naruto realized none of this, too dragged in by his own unexpected and explosive feelings to notice anything.

"You _lied_ to me. You came into our lives – mine, Hinata's, Choji's, everyone's – and you didn't judge us. I _trusted_ you and all the while you were just a fake! Everything we took for honesty was just a rouse to keep your dirty little secret! You never loved us; you just didn't want anyone running you out of town so you made friends to look _normal_. You never cared. You never told us the truth. Everything about you was a lie! You're just a bloodthirsty _animal_!"

The cold, hard truth struck Sasuke with a moment of clarity. So it wasn't about what he'd "done." It was about what he was. It was something Sasuke had never taken into account before, always assuming Naruto was so pig-headed and arrogant that there was nothing deeper to his vendetta than his unfounded accusations. For a moment, the guilt and despair he had at first felt for the boy came creeping back. However, he then read the second meaning in the boy's rant.

So because he wasn't human – because he was a "monster" – everything he'd said and done to make him and the others his friends, couldn't be real. Defending them from bullies, laughing at their jokes, comforting them in the face of tragedy : none of that could have been real if he wasn't human. Fists clenching at his sides and fury rising from the pit of his stomach, he bit back at him a retort that hurt him more than Naruto, voice worn raw with emotion.

"You know what Choji said to me, the night he died? In those last moments where he learned the truth, he said, he didn't care. 'That's so cool,' he said. He thought it was funny; amazing even. He wanted to know more about me…His last request was that I took care of all of you. He trusted the safety of his friends with me."

"Well great job so far."

The heart-wrenching memory of Choji's death and all it had cost him combined with Naruto's heart-broken condescendence, didn't appease Sasuke's rage. He stormed past Naruto, picking up the slayer that had been silently waiting on the carpet nearby, craving the thrill of being fired again. Naruto didn't try to worm away as he came back over him and aimed once more. Their eyes remained locked – diamond and ruby; fire and ice – each courting the other into making the next move.

"I wonder," Sasuke whispered, half to himself. "Would he want me to keep protecting you if you stood in the way of getting him justice?"

"Pull it," Naruto dared. "Let's find out and prove everything I've said about you right."

Sasuke knew he'd never pull the trigger – from the moment he'd stepped inside, he knew Naruto wouldn't die. Shino was not so positive. There was no way of knowing how long the Sage's apprentice had been watching. He only revealed himself when the decision over Naruto's life was left in Sasuke's (what he considered) faulty resolve. He said nothing, standing in the doorway of the bedroom like a corpse's portrait. Sasuke didn't glance at him and Naruto didn't know he was there until Sasuke lowered the slayer and said, "Looks like your godfather sent you a babysitter."

Naruto's head dragged around to the black sentinel in the doorway, his hidden eyes focused on the other vampire. Said Uchiha stepped over Naruto, still intent upon those vengeful eyes. He tossed the slayer on the ground.

What Naruto saw as he resumed the ocular lock, made the faintest, farthest pieces of his mind click together – pieces that had been buried by thoughts of being wronged and ridden with loss. Those eyes that he despised – those eyes that he _feared_ – were suddenly sullen and lackluster, their edge lost to the throes of despair. They were soft and they were broken, and that tiny clicking in his far away thoughts reminded him that he'd seen that look – once, twice, too many times before. But when? He couldn't remember. Then, the vampire turned away and met the shielded eyes of the apprentice. No one uttered a sound. Then, Sasuke was gone, erased from the backdrop. It was just the hunter and the stranger.

The fight behind his words was lost again, and it was a miracle that he managed to move at all. Breaths labored and body painted in bruises and blood, slowly, Naruto got to his feet, hand hovering towards the slayer and eyes hovering on this new vampire.

"Is it true?" he growled, heart pumping and hopelessly praying that Sasuke had been wrong. "Did Jiraiya send you?"

He froze where he was at the imperceptible nod of the marble head. He was left alone after that, too blind with shock and confusion to see the stranger go. For a moment, he was furious; next he was sad. His heart felt like it was spiking with the high and low seesaw effect. He was numb as he moved, not realizing until he found it that he was looking for his laptop. When he hit the bed with it, there was no getting up again and it was a struggled just to open the thing. Finally, it flipped open and the chat appeared. Huntress was online, he realized vaguely. He lay sprawled on the bed and stared at the blank screen, the shine of his gun left on the ground teasing at his peripheral. Sasuke's eyes were in his head, reminding him of a time, he could not remember.

His hands floated towards the keyboard. No letters appeared on the screen. For the first time since this whole nightmare started, he didn't know what to say and unconsciousness took him before he could try and think of something.

* * *

_I created the sound of madness/Wrote the book on pain/Somehow I'm still here to explain/That the darkest hour never comes in the night/You can sleep with a gun/When you gonna wake up and fight for yourself_

* * *

**Author's Note**: I realized something very rotten when I finished revising this chapter: I hate this story. I don't think I've hated something I've written so much before in my life. That being said, I think I did a half-ass job this chapter when any readers still powering through this deserved something better. I can't promise I'll put my full energy into making the remaining chapters flawless either. At some point in time, I lost my words to help describe this story better. I can't seem to capture the feelings of the characters that I want and I can't remember why I brought half of them into the picture either when it's really all about Naruto and Sasuke. Itachi ended up being a side character which was not my intention starting out at all and I haven't the slightest clue on how to make him important again. I could quit the whole story and leave it here and never return but, I'd be a hypocrite if I did. I always hate when people abandon stories I've put on my Alerts list so, I'm not going to be one of those people. Since I hate to see a story - no matter how crappy - go unfinished, I'll wade through the misery this story brings me and hopefully any of my few readers left can be satisfied with at least a conclusion to the mystery. I can't say you'll get beautiful, flowing sentences, or dynamic character interactions though.

Anyway, that rant was needed and now that it's over with I'll give you heads up of what I've tasked myself with for the next chapter. It's break from both Sasuke and Naruto and will focus mainly on Tayuya and Kakashi. Surprising grouping, I know. Sasuke will be thrown in at the end but, I don't consider his actions to be significant. The chapter after that - I think we'll be on 25 - I'll be bringing Itachi back...maybe. Review if you want.


	25. CHAPTER 24 Time Is Running Out

**~Chapter XXIV~**

* * *

_I think I'm drowning / Asphyxiated / I want to break this spell that you've created / You're something beautiful / A contradiction / I want to play the game / I want the friction / You will be the death of me_

* * *

Coffee: the life blood of the working man. The only thing in the world with the blessed power of waking Kakashi up was that sweet, _sweet_ scent. He raised his head, weighing like five cinderblocks, waiting for the clouds of sleepiness to clear from his one-sided gaze. A steaming cup of caffeine was set before him. He blinked up at the crossed arms that had delivered it. They had grown painfully familiar in the past week.

"Why don't you start bringing your mattress to work?" came the snarky comment. "It's probably feeling awfully lonely."

"I'm sure that's not the case," he yawned. "The resident hobo has probably 'adopted' it by now."

The red-haired and loud-mouthed Tayuya had been assisting on the KM case since Asuma died – she was a temporary replacement, although his superior's denied it. When it was announced that the woman would be partnered with him, he'd had a minor stroke. _Her_ with _him_? After the incident with the photographers? Were they crazy? After the initial shock though and a day to… "get acquainted," Kakashi realized she was... "not horrible." He learned that her best quality was her "directness." She got things done and her long list of achievements could attest to that.

After they'd shared career victories and got the lay of each other's personalities, Kakashi had made an acceptable conclusion about their partnership: They were polar opposites. She was a fighter; he was a pacifist. She loved junk food; he was a health freak. She was a conserved, no-nonsense woman that would disembowel any guy whose hands came within three feet of her "personal space"…he read dirty books. There was one thing he did realize they had in common though: they were both full of themselves. For sympathy's sake, he was keeping her around…plus, she go him coffee.

"Are you hoping to suck up more information by laying on them?" she asked, inclining her head at the various files that were serving as his pillow.

"That's how I got through high school."

"I don't doubt it."

Her condescending snort was starting to grow on him. He thought it was impressive that she could do it so gracefully and yet still keep the same haughtily masculine effect. She strode to her new place of occupation at the desk to his left and flopped down in the whiny rolling chair like she'd worked there for years. Kakashi's office was perfectly square and about thirteen feet across. Three desks were situated on each of three walls. Kakashi's faced the door and the broad windows that peered out at the rest of the busy police station. He had shared the space with Asuma and his self-proclaimed arch nemesis, Might Guy. Mercifully, the flamboyant over-achiever had been transferred to the police station on the other side of town to organize evidence and help head the lesser station's forces. (Though Konoha's crime rate had been low, the town was large and as a safety precaution, two stations were sanctioned on each side of town.)

Tayuya was already at work, typing up a storm on her laptop she'd set up on the desk. For some reason, she refused to use the stationed computer at the corner of the desk. Instead she had any digital files she needed transferred to her personal computer. In the few days she had been assigned the case, more paper files and digital downloads had passed over that desk than ever before. She rarely explained half of them or shared her information with him. Not the best way to kill a case, at least he thought not.

"Any new suspects?" he asked, brushing papers out of his hair and off his shoulders.

"Yupe."

"Who?"

"I don't know. They're strangers to me."

Kakashi suppressed a growl, distracting his irritation by smoothing out the haphazard mess before him. Patience was a difficult virtue to keep in her presence.

"Anything on the missing kid? Zaku?"

"No."

At least she was honest. He sighed and looked down at his papers. All he had for suspects were the limited amount of convicts and mental patients in the quiet town. Not one, ever fit in.

"How did you narrow down your new suspects?"

"Through research, what else?"

"Can you give me _details_ about that research?"

"It's a complicated process."

"Doesn't seem like it."

She glared at him and it took him mountains of willpower to not glare back. Just because they'd grown accustomed to each other, didn't mean they started _liking_ each other.

"I'm starting to think you don't understand the definition of 'partners,'" he dared to accuse.

Her tiger eyes flashed at the opposition and he braced himself for the wrath of judgment day. There must have been a God if he was rescued from that wrath. It came in the form of her cell phone ringing. Her untempered rage switched to the mobile sending loud vibrations through the wood of the desk. It was accompanied by a very guttural, static melody from some Satanic sounding band. She growled at the caller ID and instead of answering, turned the volume off. It continued to vibrate but, she ignored it. Kakashi watched in anticipation, expecting that it wouldn't serve as much of a distraction. She returned to her work though, and suddenly seemed to forget he was even there. Luck was on his side for once. Feeling slightly empowered by his unexpected good fortune, he continued to persevere in his quest for communication.

"If you tell me the names of your suspects, we can narrow the list down faster."

Her palms slammed on the desk then and she focused her temper onto him once again. So much for luck.

"Why would I bother giving you my suspect list when I know you won't like half of them?"

"What do you mean 'I won't like them?' Do I know them or something?"

She resumed her taciturn silence, pointedly avoiding his gaze again. Kakashi kneaded his brow with his fingers before coming to the conclusion that if he was going to get anything out of her, _he'd_ have to take the initiative. Naturally passive as he was, "taking the initiative" was not something he often applied in his life. Putting his childish fear of her aside, the detective rose to his feet and approached her desk which she glared across like a mother tiger. He stopped in front of her and her eyes narrowed, daring him to make a move. Heart pounding and blood pressure rising, Kakashi collected an armistice in his head.

When he opened his mouth, finally prepared for battle, her cellphone rang over him.

The vibration was like the buzz of an angry hornet's nest; raucous and threatening. He couldn't resist glancing at it, especially when she so flawlessly abstained from acknowledging its existence even in the slightest bit. He blinked at her curiously but, her only response was a twitch of her eyebrow. They waited out the irritating buzz, tension bouncing back and forth between them, wondering who was going to crack and grab the damn thing.

Mercifully, it quit and they were left in silence, focused on each other once more. On second thought, maybe it wasn't so merciful, since now it left Kakashi free to present his already rejected treaty. The eager twinkle in her eye said she couldn't wait to make that rejection official. Regardless of the futility, Kakashi still opened his mouth to try.

…And her phone rang again.

"Son of a bitch!" she finally erupted, sending him scooting back a few thousand miles in fright.

Furious as a wildfire, she picked up the phone in an iron-fisted hold and fumed into it, "Unless you're fucking under fire you shouldn't be calling me you little shit!"

The heat of her rage was palpable even at his (relatively safe) vantage point, hiding behind the desk on the other side of the room. He cautiously peered over the top at her and analyzed her curiously. The heat dissipated suddenly and her face became stricken with rare humiliation. The person on the other end of the line clearly wasn't who she was expecting.

"What the hell are you calling me for Jirobo?...No, I thought you were someone else – someone much, _much_ more annoying…Still in Konoha, assisting on the case. What the hell is it to you?...Who?"

The conversation was easy to follow up until that point. There was a long pause between the last two replies, where Kakashi observed a multitude of emotions cross her face over whatever this Jirobo guy was telling her. First there was shock, then _tons_ of confusion, then disgust, then a hint of bitter amusement.

"An old friend of mine," she answered something on the other line, a scary smile twisting her face as she furiously started pounding on her computer again. "Yeah, it's a good thing you called me. I've gotta go. Later!"

She abruptly ended the call glaring at the computer screen. Summing up all his courage, Kakashi stepped out of his hiding place, tentatively trying to approach her again. He could tell she wasn't mad at the guy who had called her; rather she was mad at whatever he had told her. The twitching smile as her fingers raced over the keyboard was as threatening as a hissing cobra. If he could doge her bite, he'd make Steve Irwin proud.

"Who was that?" he asked when he was standing at her desk again like a deer in headlights.

"My partner back in Oto," she grumbled, the scary smile falling into a comprehensive frown over whatever she was typing.

"Bad news?"

"Maybe, not sure. I'm sure as hell going to find out."

Sticking his head into the cobra's nest, the daring detective carefully peered over the top of her computer. He managed to spy the white letters of a black-backed chat room before he was frightened into awareness by her suddenly thrusting a thin packet of paper in his face. He carefully tilted his head to peek around the papers but, she continued to type one-handed and aggressively. Like he was afraid he was taking poison, Kakashi picked the pages from her grasp, her hand flying back to the keyboard once it was free. For an instant, a bubble of thrill rose up inside him at the thought of her _actually_ sharing information with him. In the next second, that bubble popped when he saw the picture attached to the file.

"What is this?" he asked, voice darkening as he gazed at the woman in the photo.

"You asked for my research, you got it. I did warn you, didn't I?"

"This is Yuhi Kurenai, Asuma's fiancée. Why have you marked her as a suspect?"

"Miss Yuhi was at the scene of two of the crimes," Tayuya explained impatiently, stopping what she was doing to glare up at him. "She's connected, even in the vaguest ways, to all of them. Whether that makes her a suspect, I won't know until all her alibis check out but, for now she's a very important person of interest that I'm disgusted you were so blind as to overlook. Does that answer your question _detective_?"

The heat of contempt was scalding between them but, Kakashi wouldn't dare act on it like he had with the photographers. He wouldn't be facing a suspension if he battled it out with Tayuya; he'd face extinction. He struggled to keep his composure, struggled to think like the cop he was admired for being. In a case of such a massive proportion, he had to be prepared for deceit. He had to accept all possibilities, no matter how much they hurt.

He returned his gaze to Tayuya's findings on Kurenai taking a few paces away from her desk as he read and she resumed typing. She was right: even if only indirectly, Kurenai was connected to every murder. Tenten's body was behind her house; Sakura and Choji were students in her biology class; she attended the church where Shigure's body was hung; she was a volunteer attendant at the garden's where Hisame was found; she was the first to find her fiancée dead.

It could be coincidence. It could be intentional. No matter what Tayuya thought, Kakashi knew Kurenai wasn't the killer. After consoling her at Asuma's funeral, after knowing her all his life, he knew it wasn't her. It was impossible. She wasn't…

Suddenly, the office doors swung open, startling the detective's gaze away from the new development brought forth by Tayuya's files.

"Oops! Sorry, didn't mean to scare you, sir," the man in the doorway instantly apologized with a sheepish smile after seeing the detective jump.

"Oh, don't apologize, Yamato," he managed to laugh. "This case just has me on edge."

Yamato was a sandy-hared, fun-loving ex-soldier that trained rookie cops for five years before turning detective. Kakashi had often worked alongside him and even taught him a few of his tricks. Yamato had been recently put in charge of the new KM Task-Force. They were a special division, hand-picked by the mayor herself, to dedicate all resources to finding the killer. They consisted of many people Kakashi didn't know that spoke little and stuck to the shadows.

One member was with Yamato in the doorway. Kaashi had never met Sai before a few days ago. He was silent, obedient, and intelligent and Yamato held him in the highest regard. He was also young – barely older than Nauto; too young to be risking his life on such a dangerous case, Kakashi thought.

"How's the investigation going on your front?" Yamato asked, crossing into the room with Sai following like a shadow.

"Slow," he struggled to describe, being as courteous about his new partner's inability to cooperate as possible, especially after she'd shared with him such shocking evidence. "How about you?"

"No breakthroughs but, we're putting together a chain of suspects we think might lead to him."

"Anyone you need me to check out?"

"Not as of yet."

This conversation was already sounding a little too familiar. Why was everyone keeping him in the dark, refusing to let him help? He knew more about what they were up against. Why didn't they trust him? Maybe he shouldn't complain. After all, Tayuya had at least given him _something_.

The racket of said red-head's phone called everyone's attention. God, who the hell kept calling this girl? When he looked back at her, he was shocked to find her laptop packed up and she was preparing to leave for the day, swinging her bulging duffel bag over her shoulder.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she snatched up the cell phone, he putting the file in his hand back together.

"To follow leads," she growled.

"Good luck!" Yamato offered, kindly.

Tayuya didn't seem to find his friendliness endearing. The look she gave him was like that of a cat hissing at a dog. Yamato either didn't notice or didn't care; either way he didn't acknowledge it and she was yelling at her phone on her way out before he might be able to. Kakashi wouldn't forget that wary glance or the equally competitive curiosity in Sai's stare as he watched her leave the room. It wasn't the first time Kakashi was reminded that Tayuya may be more involved than he thought.

* * *

Tayuya's nerves were in a frenzy as she hurried out of the police station, cell phone pressed against her ear. She'd recognized the two men instantly: they had been at the fray in the Town Center. Sai's fake threat to that Zaku guy's hostage had triggered her reckless apprentice to fire early. The other man, Yamato, had been heading the leech extraction team. It had been under his watch that she and the twins had taken out one of his men. She had never expected to come face to face with them as police officers of all things.

"Do you know how hard it is to work with you calling me every ten seconds?" she growled into her phone as she charged down the frigid streets.

"Oh, you were working?" Sakon replied, like this was news to him. "I'm sorry. What sorry soul did I rescue from your abusive interrogations this time?"

"Well, you certainly haven't spared yourself. What the hell do you want?"

"You're spiky ball of pride and joy is whining about some fight he lost."

"What else is new?" she snorted in contempt.

"Apparently it was that Uchiha kid again."

"You sure he isn't crying wolf?"

"I can never tell with this runt. I only talked with him over the phone so I don't know if he's got any broken bones to prove it."

"If he can pick up a phone and whine, he'll live. I'm too busy tracking down this killer to be babysitting that brat!"

"You still don't think it's these Uchiha brothers, even if this Sasuke kid really did attack him?"

"It certainly doesn't help to make him look innocent but, I still don't think it's them," she said, pulling over to seat herself on a sidewalk bench. "Hey, is Gaara around? I need to talk to him."

"Um, no, Kankuro took him out for a bite but, Temari here is just itching to – "

There was some abrupt shuffling and some distant bickering over the line. Tayuya flicked open her laptop while she waited, eyebrow twitching in impatience. The files she'd been collecting in Hatake's office were still open on the screen. She quickly double-checked her surroundings to confirm that there were no eyes watching her.

"Hey T! What's up?" Temari's voice greeted suddenly, obviously thrilled that she'd won the wrestle for the phone.

Tayuya couldn't help but smirk. Temari was one of the select few people she got along with. She also wasn't afraid to admit that talking to Gaara always sent chills across her skin. She'd rather talk to anyone else, even if they weren't as helpful on this topic.

"I need some information," she said, getting straight to business. "What can you tell me about a leech named Yamato?"

"Old," Temari replied, instantly switching to business mode. "Almost as old as the Countess. I think he was her apprentice before she took on the girl. Now he's her own private hit-man."

Tayuya pulled up her findings on the ancient blond. It hadn't been easy finding information on the vampire Council. Especially around three centuries ago, following the procession was barely possible. From the little she'd gathered, Tayuya knew that Tsunade was the only original member seated. Hearing Temari recall that Yamato could be as old as her didn't reassure the red-head.

"Alright, what about this Sai kid?"

There was a brief pause then, a thoughtful hum but, Tayuya could tell she already had nothing.

"I couldn't tell you. I can ask Gaara if you want."

"I'll ask him. I'll be back soon. Just got some door-knocking to do. Hey, did H tell you anything about sending Kidomaru over?"

"Kidomaru? I thought he was in Indonesia! He's coming _here_?"

"Apparently," Tayuya scoffed, clicking around her assembled files for a quick study before she went to pursue them. "My cover in Oto told me that he had called. Huntress didn't feel like talking either."

"Hm…I thought me and the boys were the last ones. Between you and the twins, me and my bros, and the pups, we definitely have enough. I'll see if I can get anything out of her."

"Thanks. You got anything on that former Sage I asked you about?"

"Only a name," Temari sighed, the crackling of papers covering up some annoyed mumbling. "And I got a picture of his apprentice but, I don't know what you can do with it."

"Anything helps," Tayuya grumbled, her eyes carefully scrutinizing the faces looking out at her from the computer screen. "Send it to me."

"Yes ma'am," Temari mocked, making the older woman's lips quirk up in amusement. "Ah! Here it is! The name of the first Sage was Sarutobi."

Tayuya's brows came together, wheels madly crunching in her head. She clicked on an old black and white photo of the old man in question, the last image ever taken of him. Then, she pulled up the police files of Sarutobi Asuma.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! Gaara knew his face instantly!" Temari replied, shocked and confused by Tayuya's doubt – she'd never doubted her before.

The detective's face smoothed at the confirmation but, her lips remained in a stern line. Could Asuma be a descendant of an original Council member? Yeah, probably. It never surprised her when humans were related to vampires. What concerned her was how this factored into the killing. Was it a coincidence that a possible member of an original's clan had been killed? Or was it intentional? Was this monstrous abomination of a killer even more ancient than she had ever thought?

"Hey, T? I sent you the picture. You alright over there?" Temari's voice said, cutting into her thoughts.

"Yeah, fine. I was just thinking."

"You're getting more involved with this case than you care to admit, aren't you?" Temari pried, unable to hide her amusement.

"Heh. Old habits die hard, I guess. I haven't done real detective work like this in too long."

"Gets your blood pumping, right?"

"You have no idea. Listen, I'll shoot to be back by the time the kiddies get in. Give them a nice, good slap in the ass for me, would ya?"

"You had to ask? Yes, sir."

"See you then."

"Good luck, officer!"

She hung up, always feeling more at ease after talking to the confident blond. Her headstrong attitude was contagious. She sighed as she breezed through her files, anticipating the confrontations she'd have to endure today. The matching gazes of the Uchiha brothers stared out at her, cold and calculating yet, soulful and compassionate. She had to laugh at herself. It was the first time she'd ever felt a "soulful and compassionate" vibe from a leech. There wasn't much to find about the pair and there certainly wasn't anything incriminating in their past.

They turned out of love – much to her discomfort – got kicked out of the country on probation for a few years as punishment, chose to live abroad even when their exile was up, and returned in October. The killings began soon after. If she was an impractical hunter with a grudge against all vampire kind – like Naruto – she would jump to the conclusion that they were killing as vengeance for their exile. However, that would be incongruous to how they spent their time overseas. Any photos or records Tayuya had found of their stays in various countries showed there was nothing about their exile they didn't enjoy. Their charitable endorsements on blood banks and hospitals plus, the minimal amounts of vampiric murder, showed they led a very pacifist feeding life. She could find no concrete evidence to prove they were kills of such magnitude.

She scrolled to her next pair of files: the Count and his Oracle. Of all the Council members, this Momochi Zabuza interested her the most. His initiation into the Council was an abrupt and hurried change around three hundred years ago, where following the lies was a near impossible task. He was an ancient, feared general from the Crusades and was apparently the obvious choice for Count. Yet, he was a replacement, not an original member. Whoever had been the first had left no records to indicate they had even existed. Why was that?

Finding the former Sage had been no cakewalk either, Tayuya recalled, turning her gaze to the current Sage and his apprentice. Jiraiya was the youngest on the Council, only a hundred years old. Even his apprentice succeeded him in age. Finding his predecessor was hard enough and she still didn't know what had happened to him. Sarutobi's apprentice had proved an even greater challenge. She was still stunned that Temari and her brothers had been able to find a picture.

Thinking so, the huntress saved and closed the valuable files and glanced down at the WiFi icon, pleased to find it connected. Eager to add a new face to the throng of suspected vampires, she swiftly opened up her internet browser and logged into her heavily secured email account. Temari's attachment sat highlighted at the top of the already read stack. The photo downloaded in seconds before rising to center screen.

Something inside her deflated upon seeing the face. Her eyes roved over the pale countenance, the bright yet stern gleam of the eyes, and the controlled smile that had a familiar, playful edge to it. She had to shut the laptop, shock overtaking her as she made a connection. She'd seen that face before. She saw it everyday.

* * *

He was alone…still. He was alone and he was going mad. Every second he sat in that house and Itachi wasn't sitting next to him was like falling into oblivion. He was drowning in misery, drowning in glass after glass of bloody liquor. He stared at the white boards for hours, his rusty eyes following the elegant dips and curves of his brother's handwriting, obsessed with remembering the long fingers that had created the words; the same fingers that had stroked his hair, touched his cheek.

When the nostalgia became too much, he would take a long drink. Tsunade had told him the trick for getting a vampire drunk a long time ago and he'd never cared to try it until now. Blood in vodka or sake was the best thing Tsunade had ever told him about, by far. The burn of alcohol didn't affect vampires unless you shook and stirred your favorite blood type in. Hell, had he missed that burn.

He gasped when he finished the glass, exalted by the way his gaze distorted and his skull thrummed. A sigh escaped him, accompanied by a twisted smile and a loathsome snort as he poured another glass of the concoction. He looked back at the boards; at the gory photographs, the haunting hand-writing, the prominent question marks scattered across the expanse, taunting him, mocking him, laughing at his pain. The yearning for his brother turned into a scalding hatred for the unseen killer; a hatred for the blood flowing on the white-board; a hatred for the questions, all those goddamn questions that were never answered.

He looked down at the ruddy mixture in his hand. As much as it satisfied his lust for self-destruction, he hated the unpleasantness of its color: yellow with a pale red swirl, never quite mixing together, never complete. Never the same. Fury detonated inside Sasuke and he pelted the glass across the room with an incoherent shout. The shattering glass cracked like thunder in his ears and he glared as the remains dripped down the far wall. Just like them, he thought, refusing to look at the boards. Just like me.

"Sasuke?"

He threw a fleeting glare over his shoulder, not caring enough about her presence to put focus into it. He returned to brooding over his whiteboards, figuring if he ignored her long enough she would go away. He must have been drunk if he thought that would work. Shizune was hovering by the edge of the bed, like a peripheral phantom, a second later.

"What do you want?" he spat at her, fully aware of how unfair it was but, too intoxicated and distraught to give a damn.

"You're…not alright – "

"What the hell gave that away?"

He whirled to the mini-bar and downed another drink before turning and glaring at her over the rim of a new one. She wasn't looking at him though, instead fixed o the timeline that had him so obsessed instead. He tried to ignore it again, watching the remains of his last victim start to stain the carpet. As the bristling silence between them went on, watching the liquid spread on the floor brought the haunting flashes of both Sakura's and Choji's deaths back. He squeezed his eyes shut to hide from them but the blackness only made them more vivid. The drink scalded his throat, lifted to his lips instinctually, and the images were scorched away. It was only for a moment.

"I came to see if Naruto had hurt you," came Shizune's voice as he pressed the cool glass to his even colder forehead. "From the sound of Shino's report, you dealt most of the damage. Regardless, the Countess was still concerned."

"I'm surprised she feels _that_ way and not how the Council _says_ she should feel. God forbid she spoke her mind in that room."

"She's doing the best she can, Sasuke," she said, automatically rising to her master's defense. "Being the oldest doesn't make her a god. There are rules to follow."

"What rule says she can't speak her mind or stand up for what she knows is right? She's a fucking original! She _invented_ the rules!"  
Shizune sprung to her feet, uncharacteristic aggression pulsing off of her in tense coils. Sasuke glared at her, arrogantly courting her to act on it. Her fists

clenched and unclenched at her sides and she squeezed her eyes shut, delicate fangs peering from beneath her lips. Sasuke snorted in cold amusement at her efforts to stay calm. He raised the glass again, only to have it ripped from his hands by her a second later. Her expressive gaze was bursting past the seams of restraint, yearning to tell him something but unable to. Like master, like apprentice.

"There are things that you just _can't know_," she said, like there were needles in her throat. "They'll destroy you, Sasuke."

"Too late."

His gaze was fathomless, not clever and thoughtful like it used to be. It struck bolts of panic through her own and her sisterly love for him became unbearably possessive, triggering her to step forward and embrace him. He didn't return it but, didn't reject it either.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Typical Shizune: always knowing the roots of everyone's problems and always the first to bring it into the light. It was true. He was sure he wouldn't be so open to self-destruction if he wasn't alone. Beneath all his loathing for the invisible killer and beneath all his resentment for the Council's uselessness, his words from that night continued to haunt him. The look in his brother's eyes, like he'd stabbed him with a poison dagger, plagued dreams he could no longer control. If he just had him back…If his brother would just come home…

"Have faith," Shizune murmured in his ear before pulling away and smiling at him. "If you give up on hope, you'll never get the answers you need."

He held her gaze, unable to fight the relaxing effect it often had on him. He glanced at the drink she'd set on the mini-bar beside him, feeling the hands on his shoulders grow a little colder. His long fingers reached for it but, only to slide it further away, as a show of good faith. The shell of distress washed from Shizune in relief.

"I'm still on your side, Sasuke," she said, nudging his chin up. "I always will be."

He weighed that for a moment, scrutinizing her soft, honest face. It was impossible not to believe her. He tried to smile but, it fell flat, so he opted for a small nod instead.

"I've got to go," she said, happier now that she'd gotten at least somewhat through to him. "For now, you have a guest. Please, try not to eat him."

She gave him one last squeeze on the shoulder and her most reassuring smile before vanishing into the cold winds from the open windows. Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to return to his mortal countenance. Now wasn't the time for human company. He could just ignore him when he came knocking but, the sureness of his steps up the winding drive suggested he would not be deterred. Sasuke sighed and glided down to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

The well-stocked fridge was mostly to keep up appearances but, occasionally the items had their usefulness. Sasuke downed the whole bottle as he shifted to stand at the other side of the door, waiting for his visitor to start knocking. His hope was that the plain purity of the water would nullify the blood in his system and therefore wash the rusty pigment from his irises. He felt like it was working by the time he was finished, tossing the empty plastic over his shoulder and listening to it settle in the nearest wastebasket. It had to, for the bronze knocker was tapping against the hardwood.

He stared at the door, reconsidering the idea to just ignore it and pretend he wasn't home. However, the urgency and the familiarity of the scent compelled him to answer. He put on his fakest and most plastic smile as he opened the door, knowing full well that it wasn't going to fool Shikamaru the skeptic.

The boy stood in the doorway, more haggard and disheveled than he usually looked. His spiky ponytail seemed wilted and the tired circles under his eyes were black from stress, mourning, and deep thought. The way he was looking at Sasuke, like he was meeting an infamous crime boss for the first time, did little to ease the vampire. Regardless, he mustered the best act he could within his circumstances.

"What a surprise!" he said, pleasantly. "It's nice to see you, Shikamaru. This is so unexpected…"

"Stop," the boy commanded. "Spare me the human pleasantries. I'm not here as your friendly fool and you know it."

His tone was surprisingly articulate and collected, demanding Sasuke's complete attention. The puppet-like smile that took so much energy to manipulate disintegrated back into his heartless scowl. They regarded each other like enemy wolves and Sasuke was surprised that Shikamaru could hold his own against a vampire. His next words were spoken carefully and acutely, driving directly to his point.

"I was with Choji the night he died. We'd gone to see a late movie and it was past the new curfew when we headed home. We passed an alley and he said he heard something, going off to investigate. I tired to stop him but…I lost sight of him for less than a minute and when I found him again, that monster…Zaku…"

He stopped, eyes glistening and voice filled with emotion. He closed his eyes and shook his head, battling for his composure back. Sasuke waited, stone cold, and he continued.

"I watched Zaku kill him. He would have killed me too if he hadn't gotten distracted by the gunshots in the Square. I hid when you came. I listened to what Choji said to you and what you said back to him. I watched Naruto try to kill you and I watched you try to save Choji when Itachi wouldn't let you. I know Naruto's a hunter. I know you and Itachi are vampires and I know all this death is because of a vampire too…I need you to say it."

As Shikamaru spoke, Sasuke felt like he was aging to the point that by the he'd finished, he felt too weary to even stand, let alone speak. In a small voice, he managed to say, "It's true." Shikamaru deserved that much confirmation. The boy nodded thoughtfully, brows creased together as he went on.

"You and Naruto have been at it since Sakura died. He saw the same thing I did except, he just saw you there."

Sasuke nodded when he glanced up for an answer.

"He thinks you're the killer. Zaku…he wasn't the real one, was he?"

"Just a pawn," Sasuke replied, voice empty. "A distraction to stop us from finding him."

Shikamaru nodded again, paused, then kept going, "You and Itachi are taking the blame, because when you moved in, all this started. Naruto has an army of hunters downtown, ready to kill you when the real killer's still out there, getting away with murder…I want justice for Choji; him and all the other people who died. If that means sabotaging Naruto so he doesn't get in your way I…I guess I have to."

Sasuke was shocked by the blunt offering. He was afraid he was hallucinating. Shikamaru had always mistrusted him and yet, he was the one who believed he was innocent; who _knew_ he was innocent. Sasuke was finding it to difficult to comprehend as Shikamaru turned his back and started down the stairs. He stopped halfway though, glancing over his shoulder and speaking more hesitantly.

"Hinata…she's been asking about you. She's been worried. I have to tell her the truth. More than Kiba, more than Lee, more than me…she deserves to know."

Sasuke's already heavy hurt sunk a little lower as he imagined Hinata's reaction. She had trusted him the most. Would she be terrified and crushed, like Naruto had been? Or would she be like Choji? He didn't know how much more the poor girl could take.

"I just don't want you all getting hurt," he whispered.

"It's too late for that," Shikamaru said, sadly. "You can't protect everyone forever. We've got to fight for ourselves."

* * *

Kakashi waited at the back door of the police station, flicking a cigarette lighter open and closed. He used to smoke before the…"incident" had scarred his face. It had been seven years since he'd been that rookie cop, caught in a job that was too great for his training…for _anyone's _training. He remembered every detail, vividly. Ever since the massacre started, images of that night haunted him more persistently: the moonlight in the alley, the thunder of boots all around him, the glint of steel up ahead. He had thought it was steel. He thought it was a knife but, when he rounded that corner…

He looked up and out of his past when the back door opened, concealing his lighter back in his pocket. His brows came together seeing Sai there when it had been Yamato he had asked the favor from. Silently, Sai handed him a manila envelope.

"Captain told me to deliver this to you," he said when he noticed Kakashi's wariness in accepting it. "That's who Tayuya's been looking into the most since she got here."

"Thank you. Tell Yamato I owe him."

Sai nodded mechanically before retreating back inside. It wasn't the first time Kakashi was creeped out b the kid. He turned his back on the door and opened the envelope, drawing out the files within. Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke were displayed on the papers. Kakashi analyzed their information, already making his own connections. There were now two killers as far as he knew. A pair of brothers made an awful close match. Kakashi knew better than to jump to conclusions though. The only way he'd know for sure was if he paid the Uchihas a visit.

* * *

_I wanted freedom / Bound and restricted / I tried to give you up / But I'm addicted / Now that you know I'm trapped / Sense of elation / You'd never dream of breaking this fixation / You will squeeze the life out of me / Bury it / I won't let you bury it / I won't let you smother it / I won't let you murder it / Our time is running out_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Alright, here's another rant - less negative though this time, I promse. I realize my pessimism last chapter cost me a lot of reviews so I want to take this time to apologize and thank all the readers I've noticed have stuck with this story since the beginning:

Echo Uchiha, xWhiteFang7, WraithReaper: Though your words are few, they've been keeping my tiny spark of inspiration alight.

diamondkat12: Knowing that the characters infuriate you just let's me know I'm not doing as horribly as I think I am. :)

LifeAndDeathShinobi: I think I thanked you in a previous chapter for listening to my ramblings.

And also, a special shoutout to Semper idem for the supportive PM encouraging me to go on. Thanks again! :)

If I missed anyone, feel free to yell at me in whatever way you see fit or let me know you're still reading with a review and I'll be sure to include you in future acknowledgements. :)

In closing, I'm aware that this chapter is very long and I've gotten past complaints about my chapter length, thus why I spent so much time splitting them up recently. The way I see it though, since it takes me two months to update, I'd think you'd all want longer chapters. I'm not going to worry about it anymore. Finishing the story matters most. It doesn't matter how long the chapters are to get there.

NEXT CHAPTER: The reunion you've been waiting for..._  
_


	26. CHAPTER 25 Fearless

**~Chapter XXV~**

****_~Fearless~_

* * *

_Empty house, far away / Lost in lonely space / You know you felt the same / From the shallows in love / To the depths of your scars / You know you want to change_

* * *

_"Good afternoon, this is your guidance counselor calling to let you know that your amount of absences have accumulated to the point where you can start to lose high school credit. Loss of credit may result in…"_

The recorded message droned on and on. This was the third time within the past two weeks that the automated message had threatened to take away all the "privileges" high school had to offer. It was the only message there and Sasuke had played it back about thirty times, just to fill the silence the house deafened him with. He busied himself with studying the robotic articulation of consonants, wondering how something so false could manage to sound so real.

For a guidance counselor, she wasn't offering him much guidance. He didn't think anyone could, lying on the cold bed, surrounded in paper sin as he was. He felt himself sinking down deeper with each monotonous tick of an unseen clock. He didn't know vampires could experience déjà vu. He had been learning the hard way.

His hand fell away from the answering machine brushing over to hang at the edge of the bed like a wilted feather. Silence didn't greet him at the end of the message's repetition. Instead, spectral echoes from that night teased about his ears. All those things he hadn't meant to say, all the hurt in Itachi's voice that even he could not smother, and that look – that devastating, heart-breaking look – in his cherry gaze; they were all as clear to Sasuke as ink upon the scattered pages he was drowning in.

There were so many bloody pictures, so many meaningless words, and such slim clues that continued to suffocate him. Tenten, Sakura, Hisame and Shigure, Choji, Asuma: he felt like he had lived each of their lives ten hundred times. He barely knew where their lives ended and his kept going.

Naruto wasn't on his mind. Neither was Shikamaru or Hinata; not Shizune or Tsunade; not Jiraiya or Zabuza; not Shino or Haku. Nothing but this case and everything it had cost him, occupied his thoughts. Everything had been Itachi. He had been blind to that fact for longer than he realized. Even before they'd come to Konoha, he had taken how much Itachi meant to him for granted. It was Sasuke who had insisted upon abandoning their island paradise in pursuit of a more mortal existence. It was Sasuke who had insisted upon sharing their happiness among humans when he should have kept coveting it for himself.

Itachi had never needed anything more. He never required human contact or thirsted for friendship or humanity. Sasuke had always been enough for him. Wasn't that why he changed him in the first place? Why couldn't he have felt the same? Why wasn't what they had enough?

Those island days haunted him as the silence continued to thicken. The thunder rumbling in the distance, melted into the methodical blows of waves hitting the shore…

The faraway chatter of Konoha's people, faded into the songs of seabirds…

The rain slapping the window pane…like the flap of a boat's sail…

_…_

_…The gentle caress of seawater on their little sailboat was one of the fewest things that could put Sasuke totally at peace. He loved to lie down in the belly of the little vessel and press his ears to the wood. Every time, there always was a new sound to be discovered. That's why he loved the sea so much. It was humbling, something extremely rare for an immortal._

_ He sat up in the small boat, stretching his pale arms over his head and sighing in content. The sea reached out on all sides of them, an infinite carpet of crinkled, sapphire taffeta. It was all theirs. The little island was leagues behind them and not another soul was in sight. He looked up at Itachi who was manning the sail. Old and knowledgeable as he was, it wasn't often Sasuke came across something he couldn't do. Sailing was one of the few things he'd never have a talent for. He understood the hows and whys behind the art but, even so, he always did something wrong._

_ Itachi was a perfect sailor and, for whatever reason, he put his heart into it. He loved all the intricate knots and calculating the precise positioning of the sails to guide their direction. It was fascinating to watch him at work, as Sasuke was now. The gently firm working of his elegant hands, the stern yet serene expression on his moonlight face, and the careful consideration of his smoky gaze all sent wonderful thrills through Sasuke's spirit. Itachi finished with his adjustments and stepped down to sit with his brother, alighting upon the seat, like a silent raven._

_ "The last day," he said, smiling rather sadly as he looked out over the waves._

_ "What do you mean?"Sasuke chuckled. "It's never the last day. We can always come back. We do _own_ the island, remember? It's not going anyplace."_

_ "It's not the island I'm concerned about. It's this: lazy days of eternal summer, sleeping to the ocean lullabies. We're not going to have that when we go back to Konoha. Are you sure you want to trade utopia for the restrictions of some small-town scene?"_

_ "You're making it out to be way worse than it will be. This is our home-town. Don't you ever feel nostalgic? Homesick?"_

_ Itachi shook his head, his smile tinted with remorse. He didn't remember Konoha the same way Sasuke did. The change to immortal life hadn't been of Itachi's choosing and anytime he was forced to recall the night it happened, he described it with nightmarish detail. He feared Konoha, although he'd never admit it. Sasuke was sure of this. Despite all the good that had come of his turning, the process still haunted him. Sasuke laced their fingers together, yearning to uplift his brother's spirits about returning to their hometown._

_ "It's going to b different this time around. Three hundred years is a long time. You don't know how much it has changed. The past has long since been buried."_

_ Itachi stared ahead at the fluttering sail, his expression unreadable. Sasuke hated when he did that, chopping him off from access to his thoughts. No matter how strong of a bond three centuries had built for the, there were still feelings Itachi wouldn't let Sasuke see. It was infuriating sometimes. After a few seconds, Itachi fingered the hand in his, glancing down at the interlocked appendages as he spoke._

_ "The house is still there."  
_

_Sasuke paused, brows connecting in confusion._

_ "What do you mean? Of course it's still there. Tsunade promised to keep it up for us."  
_

_"I'm worried," Itachi said, speaking carefully as if he was afraid of saying something wrong. "I'm worried that ghosts still linger there and that they aren't forgiving."  
_

_"Why do you need to be forgiven? Are you talking about Father? Forget about him Itachi, he's long gone. We don't have to deal with him or any of the others anymore. This is a new start. The past is finally behind us. We're free."_

A harsh clap of thunder shattered Sasuke's remembrances. The lulling waves flooded away into powerful torrents of rain; the sun blotted into the shadows of the bedroom; and the soft cradling of their little sailboat collapsed into his empty bed. They weren't free he thought. He was starting to think they never had been.

Head rolling to the side, he looked out the wrap-around windows. He'd been lost in his daze long enough for that distant storm to reach him. Sheets of rain rushed down the glass, blending all the colors of the outside world into a watery mess. The pounding on the roof was deafening and almost painful for his sensitive ears. A light film of condensation fogged up the glass, the humidity the rain brought with it clashing with the chill of the room. It was awfully late in the year for rain, he thought absently. He wondered why it wasn't snow or hail or sleet. Just when he thought winter was coming early, it made a fool of him once more.

Paper crisped lightly beneath him as he pulled himself up from the bed and approached the windows. He cleared away a circle of fog with his sleeve to gaze out at the storm. The rain distorted his view as it flowed down the pane. The brooding, dark green of the pines smudged into the smoky gray clouds. A speeding pair of headlights flashed by on the distant road to the left; a squirrel scrambled into a hollow of the tree nearest to him and furiously ran its paws through its soaked fur. Sasuke watched it through the sheets of rain for a while until it had dried itself to satisfaction and curled up to sleep out the storm.

He sighed and his dead breath crusted frost against the glass. How could he ever have believed he could pretend to be human? This act was a performance way out of his league; he was just a second-rate actor trying to make it big in a role so much greater than himself. How could he ever have deluded himself into thinking he could pull it off?

Sadly, he leaned his forehead against the glass…and felt nothing. No shock of cold or slick of humidity. No sensations tingled through his skin. He used to be able to feel it – what humans felt – before he'd lost everything. Now, he was truly dead. No feeling, no cares, nothing. Just emptiness. What was he supposed to do with that?

He shut his eyes when the rushing distortion became too overwhelming and placed a hand against the glass for support. What did they want him to do? Everybody: the divided Council, where one told him to do one thing, the other challenged him to do the opposite, and the other courted him with sometimes false and sometimes true answers; the damn hunters and that parasite, Naruto – always standing in his way, always making everything so difficult; the humans – his "friends": Shikamaru and Hinata: what could he do about their ruined lives? What did they want of him? What did they expect him to do? Just because he was immortal, he was supposed to have all the answers? Itachi had said it best: he wasn't God. Not even close.

He looked back outside, hoping the rain would drown away the pressure of all those faces. Still his mind continued to wander to even worse thoughts. The blurring rain…so much like the blur of Sakura's death, when he'd stood so close to his tormentor – the devilish murderer – but, still couldn't see him. That image had haunted him from that night on: the monstrous reach of the jaws that took up the size of its face, the shadowy black body that moved too fast for shapes to be discerned, and the wings. Wings on a vampire – the "forbidden flight" – was beyond anything he'd ever experienced – mortal or immortal. It was an abomination, not a vampire, not anything that belonged in the world.

The memory of it flashed painfully, in freeze frames, across the back of his eyes. He leaned heavier against the glass but, it never gave way. He couldn't get away from it. He was stuck, forever, alone and tormented by guilt for the rest of eternity. There was no escape. Leaving wasn't an option anymore – what was the point? No matter what corner of the world he fled to, this nightmare would forever follow him, and he had no one to protect him from it. He was scared…so scared…The thunder made him flinch once, like a terrified child, like what he'd been before the change. He thought he'd left that boy behind with the rest of his misery. He was wrong. He was always wrong. The past never stayed buried.

It was a long time that he stood there against the glass, trying to find comfort in the storm that had filled the silence. He kept his eyes closed, trying to see only the blackness of the lids but, no matter what he focused on, all those faces continued to reel in his head: dead, undead, not dead, no matter what status they may be, they all hurt the same. He had to get away from them so, he looked back through the glass…and saw black. However, it wasn't the black of his closed eyes or the black of the storm-darkened night sky. It was the familiar charcoal black of a beloved coat…and it was getting ruined out in the rain.

For a moment, an irrational bout of fear restrained Sasuke from raising his head to meet the gaze he would expect to be half a foot above him. What if he wasn't really there on the other side and looking through those portals to the soul would reveal that there was none there? What if it was just another illusion and the alabaster hand that pressed against the glass to mirror his own was just that: a reflection? He stared at their hands, so unbearably close and unable to touch, just a delicate piece of glass in their way. All it would take to be together was for one of them to shatter it, sending tiny, needle shards out to pierce anything close to them…Just like they'd always done…To everyone…But, it didn't matter. Because, what was eternity if you didn't have that one person, who had spent lifetimes understanding your every flaw, your every fear, and every thought? What was forever and always if you couldn't share your soul completely with the one you loved? Everyone else could fall if it meant you wouldn't be alone to infinity.

…Vampires were so selfish.

And Sasuke couldn't deny that nature of his being anymore. He wouldn't share what he belonged to, what he deserved after all their hardships, not ever again. His fingers curled slightly against the glass and the hand on the other side mimicked him in flawless synchronization. As always. Then, he finally looked up, through the mist, through the veil, to the other side, to meet those eyes – the ones he feared and the ones he prayed for. Gentle, obsidian gems looked back at him, mirroring the turmoil that was constricting around his own soul. It was one of the most painful blows he'd suffered, to see that torment. It was a burden that only he should have been carrying. Why in his absence, had his brother shouldered some of it too?

Thousands of frames of breathlessness seemed to pass between them as they watched each other through the warped, absorbing every new detail of misery that had chipped away t the flesh in each other's absence. All the words that had haunted Sasuke flooded out of his head and he threw them back to where they should have stayed unspoken. Only when they were gone, when he could leave them in pieces, could he accept the unsaid forgiveness and let himself out of his prison.

The glass slipped away as if it was never there and the viciousness of the storm howled unto the room, sending the papers strewn about the bed up in a liberating typhoon. They flew freely just as Sasuke rushed through the opening and latched into the embrace of his undying love, vowing never to break the lock again. That indescribable sense of safety, always only when they were together, enfolded him in its warmth with the sentinel embrace of his love. No frigid storm or any curse of walking death could keep him frozen now that he was whole again. That missing piece of the puzzle that had always been the answer he was blinded to…Itachi. His companion in blood, in love, in death, and in eternity, was back where he belonged – where _they_ always belonged.

The rain raced down upon them, through clothes, through hair, running against marble skin that refused to accept any other feeling but the body it held itself against. Fingers melted into slick, silk tresses and faces pressed into moonlight skin that felt most tender only to each other. They were a single sculpture, carved only to support each half that formed the whole. Silent and desperate, they held fast to each other, riding out the rage of the storm in the guard of one another's arms. Only when the winds slowly eased to a whimper and the rain torrents rustled against the earth less harshly did they dare to speak.

In barely a whisper – much rather like an echo from some long-forgotten speech – Itachi said, "Everything's my fault."

It was an automatic response for Sasuke to unweave his fingers from the fondled locks of hair to instead brush them lovingly along his pearly lips. Droplets of crystalline rain suspended off his black mocha tresses and rippled tremulously over his skin. The sorrow in his gaze was unfathomable and the way it swallowed everything else around it, terrified the younger vampire. He had to take it away, stop him from dwelling on the past. It didn't have to be either of their faults. They didn't have to think about it anymore.

"It's just us," Sasuke whispered. "The people we were that night aren't here anymore."

"That's not what I mean…I'm…"

He touched his lips again but, this time with his own, tasting the comfort he'd hungered for, for so many days – days that felt like decades as he collapsed into madness. Just a little kiss was all it took for them to forget all the bad things. Everything that was beautiful and pure and untouched by the world's cruelty, all connected in one union, one touch that held the secrets to every locked door. Just a little kiss. That was all it took. And no matter how bad the storm got, they withstood it, drenched but never cold, always together: the only place for a vampire to be warm.

* * *

"You gotta hand it to 'em, for vile creatures of the underworld, they sure have good taste. I'd give my right arm to live in a house like that."

"…Looks pretty dark and abysmal to me."

Tayuya didn't much care for superfluous conversation during stake-outs – not even with Temari. And no matter how convinced she was that this particular pair of leeches wasn't responsible for mass murder, she wasn't about to start paying them compliments. Besides, she really didn't understand her colleague's admiration either way. Especially on this dark and stormy night, the Uchiha manor looked even more gloomy and depressing – more like the locals' fond nickname ("the Haunted House on Raiden Hill" or something along those lines). She didn't get how anyone would want to live there.

"God, this rain is ridiculous!" Temari exclaimed, switching on the windshield wipers of the car they sat in. "I can't see a damn thing! You couldn't have picked a clearer night to do this?"

"There was no rain in the forecast! I should have never trusted the weather-man."

She closed the recently updated weather site on her laptop in frustration and instead milled about all her troublesome files regarding the massacre. Temari continued to peer through her binoculars while she pondered over the faces.

"Doesn't look like anyone's home," the blonde chirped.

"Oh, they're home. Where else would they be in a hellstorm like this?"

"Can you remind me again why _we _aren't home in a 'hellstorm like this?' I mean, what's the point of keeping tabs on someone if they're no longer a suspect?"

"It's not because I suspect them," Tayuya sighed, analyzing the old photo of Sarutobi, who's name the house had stayed under during the Uchihas' reprieve.

"It's just that I know they hold the answers to all of this."

Tayuya had compiled a lot of data in the past few weeks she'd been in Konoha, enough that she was sure she was just on the final step before understanding everything. The only chasm blocking her path was not knowing what happened three hundred years ago. That's when everything got screwed up. The Uchihas turned and the Council lines fell into obscurity. A Count – that she could still find nothing about – was replaced and not long after – at least in vampire years – so was the Sage, Sarutobi. Something must have happened to trigger all that and these murders were some bizarre way of bringing it back to the surface. But, why? And _who_ was doing it? She was so close to finding out…

…And then there was the old Sage's apprentice, whose picture presently took up the screen. The resemblance was hauntingly mesmerizing and although she had made sense of it – historically and scientifically, at least – she still couldn't wrap her head around it. Temari glanced over and when she recognized the picture, she put down her binoculars and looked at her friend, seriously.

"Do you think he knows?" she asked.

"Absolutely not," the hunter snorted. "That idiot doesn't have a clue. He thinks he's got it all figured out…"

"When are you going to tell him?"

Tayuya was quiet, absently sliding her fingers across the keyboard. Why did it have to be on her to tell him? She didn't even like the kid. Why did she have to be the bearer of all his problems?

"Tayuya," Temari said, taking her silence as a hesitation to not speaking to him at all. "He _has_ to know. Something like this, that's not something he can remain ignorant to. Take it from someone who knows. You'd be doing him a favor."

"I know, I know," the red-head sighed, running her fingers beneath the rim of her ski-cap. "Poor Runt. He gets his whole world turned upside down by learning about vampires and goes off on a slaying spree...all the while not knowing who he is…That bites."

* * *

Watching rain fall was like watching fire: it was hypnotic and had a mysterious way of transfixing one's attention completely. It was making him drowsy and he would have fallen into his nightmares if someone didn't come looking for him.

"Hey, Naruto!" Ino called, trotting up the stairs from the training complex and entering the dim book shop to find him. "Oh, there you are! What are you doing up here?"

Naruto covered a yawn and blinked weariness from his eyes, stretching out his arms on the stack of books he'd used as a seat beside the half-shaded window.

"Just taking a breather," he replied as she pulled up a dusty old chair to sit opposite him. "It was getting kind of crowded down there anyway. What are they up to now?"

"Oh, Kankuro's teaching something to Neji and the twins are betting on how fast he can pick it up or something. No word from Temari or Tayuya yet…"

"And Gaara? What's he up to?"

"Oh, you know, watching…I guess. He's just standing in the corner, staring. He was giving me the creeps so I decided to take a break and come up here."

"What were you looking for me for?" Naruto managed to chuckle.

Laughter was a façade since his last encounter with Sasuke, when he said what he did about his godfather. A few applications of the bizarre concoctions in the hunters' med-room had quickly healed the physical wounds left by the vampire however the wounds left by his words were far from ready to close. Naruto didn't have many fond memories of his godfather. The most he remembered him as was the back walking out the door of foster care, leaving him behind forever. He hated him for that, for discarding him as if he were some broken toy. And all the time he'd been a vampire? No, that just couldn't be true. Sasuke was lying to get under his skin, just like he always had…but still. He had come to his apartment to hurt him with this news, and no matter how hard he tried not to believe it, it still hurt like it was true. He hadn't told the others yet, afraid of what they might do. Not even Huntress knew – although she'd been so scarce online these days, he'd never get a chance to tell her anyway. So lost was he in these thoughts that he almost jumped to his feet when Ino snapping her fingers in his face startled him back into the present.

"Where are you, man?" the girl said, looking at him in concern. "You've been distracted like that a lot lately. Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Sorry," Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair and trying to block everything else out so he could focus on her. "What did you need me for?"

She opened her mouth but, then shut it again, biting her lip in hesitation as she scrutinized him. She did that a lot around him since she joined the fight. She always caught herself when she was talking in front of him, as if she was afraid of saying something he wouldn't like. It was strange. She never had a problem telling him what she thought in the past, when she always rejected him and Sakura being together. Funny how death warped a person like that.

"Maybe…Now's not the best time," Ino murmured, making as if to leave but, Naruto stopped her.

"Hey, no wait! I'm sorry. I spaced out for a second but, I'm good. I promise."

He was lying but, after a moment of deliberation, Ino bought it and resettled, collecting the thoughts she was prepared to put into words.

"I never really got to talk to you…about Sakura. I thought of saying something when I saw you at the funeral but, everything was so screwed up…I wouldn't have known where to start."

Naruto was quiet as she paused, holding himself together. Talk of Sakura always brought him to dark places he'd rather not visit. It was a subject that was bound to be brought up though, so he shouldn't have been too surprised. Ino was her closest friend after all. She considered her words for a moment, absently wringing her hands together, before starting up again.

"I was a real bitch to you. I said and did a lot of nasty things when you two were together and I know that mustn't have helped your relationship get any less…toxic. I wasn't a good friend to Sakura when she told me about you guys on Halloween, and why she did it. All I did was support her, even though I knew she was going to get herself into trouble…I never realized how much trouble. If I'd been a real friend maybe…"

She took a deep breath to help steady her guilt and composed herself to keep going. She glanced at Naruto to make sure he was listening. He was.

"I know now that what happened to her was beyond me, or you, or anyone else, and that no matter what any of us did differently, there would always be that chance she'd be walking home alone. Still…I can't help but wonder…if I had been a better friend, would she have ended up better off? Maybe she wouldn't be working late at a downtown bar and maybe she wouldn't have done what she did to you or get obsessed with Sasuke if I had just said something. I made all the wrong choices…and now she's dead."

"It's not your fault," Naruto tried to tell her, shocked by her admission but, she shook her head and kept going.

"I know. I'm not the one who killed her. But, don't you ever wonder what would have happened if you made a different decision in the past?"

He couldn't argue with her there. All the time he wondered how things would be if he'd done things differently. If he had insisted upon going with his parents on that trip, would he know what happened to them? If he had loved his godfather a little more, would he still have left him in foster care? If he hadn't been such a delinquent would he have found a nice family, moved to a different town, never met Sasuke or Huntress, never loved Sakura, never had to see his friend die? One could only wonder. "If."

"I can't fix anything," Ino continued, quietly. "And I know it won't help now but, I feel like I have to say it: I'm sorry – for all the things I said, for all the crap she pulled…It all seems so stupid now…"

A hush fell between them and the rain pattered away on the roof. He wasn't sure what she wanted him to say. Did he forgive her? Did she really blame herself that much? He'd never really held all those things in the past against her. They didn't help him like her much but, he didn't hold any grudge. Why did she think that? At any rate, she was apologizing to him, for everything that wasn't her fault. She didn't have to but, he couldn't not accept it. Naruto leaned forward and patted her knee in reassurance.

"Don't worry about it," he said with a half-smile. "None of that old baggage matters anymore. We're a team now – you, me, Neji – and we're all united for this one cause: taking Konoha back from the vampires. We have to avenge the people we love. Just toss away all that garbage in the past. It doesn't matter to me so it shouldn't matter to you. I'm way past it. You should be too."

She nodded slowly, rubbing away some faintly forming tears at the corner of her eyes.

"Right, you're right…thanks Naruto."

"We're friends now, right? So think nothing of it."

She glanced up at him and managed a smile that reflected his own: small, forced, empty. No matter how well they got along, it was still hard to show genuine happiness. That wasn't any fault on each other's part though. They all knew it was because of those leeches – the undead horde that was plaguing their home. There was no place for smiles until they made their town safe again.

Thinking so, Naruto got to his feet and stretched, his muscles cracking back into life after their long rest. Regaining her composure, Ino followed suit, the moment already rejuvenating a little bit of her broken spirit.

"What do you say?" Naruto said, smirking in a challenge. "Up for some competitive target practice?"

"Ha! Are you sure you're up for being outshot again?"

"I cut you some slack last time, Newbie. Don't be so cocky!"

Laughing in teasing camaraderie, the two blondes headed for the door…only to be stopped in fright. Ino screamed and Naruto swore and the both of them nearly jumped out of their skin. Gaara was leaning on the box-desk, as silent and still as the grave. He had a nasty habit of melting in and out of a room unseen and this wasn't the first time his phantasmal appearances had scared the crap out of the rookies.

"Oh…my God," Ino gasped, her hand over her heart.

"Christ, man, would you stop doing that?" Naruto barked at the red-head, covering his embarrassing fright with an overconfident temper.

The hunter paid them no heed though. As always, his glacial gaze was pre-set, this time on the swollen door of the book shop. It was anybody's guess how long he'd been like that…and that's what scared them the most. When Gaara provided no response to Naruto, the boy glared at him in displeasure. After the first few days the three siblings had been there, Naruto had managed to discard his unease about the other teen. He still thought there was something off about the guy – as if the blank stare and cold silence suggested anything else – and it was difficult to trust him. Also, Naruto thought it was just in bad taste to ignore everyone else around you.

"Hey! The least you could do is apologize for scaring the living daylights out of us!"

"Come on, Naruto leave him be. Let's just go," Ino said, trying to reason with him.

"No!" Naruto lashed back, never taking his eyes off Gaara. "I'm sick and tired of your attitude! Just because you and your siblings are such hot shot hunters, doesn't give you the right to – "

He was cut off when an arm shot up sharply to signal for silence. The movement was so quick and precise, Naruto barely saw it until it stopped. Ino flinched a little in mutual surprise beside him. Naruto continued to glare at Gaara, anticipating a comeback but, he was still transfixed by the shop door. Naruto's fists clenched at his sides and he was ready to start up again but, Gaara's haunting and rarely heard voice whisked ominously through the room before he could.

"He's here…I can smell him."

Chills ran down Naruto's spine and he and Ino looked around in confusion, not understanding. The instant Naruto opened his mouth to ask…the door swung open. The rain splashed at the threshold, around the imposing frame of a strange looking man Naruto had never seen before. He wasn't very tall but, the toned muscles of his arms, revealed by his ripped-off-sleeve black shirt, suggested he wasn't to be messed with. He had skin that was oddly the color of old parchment paper, caught between looking really tan and really pale. His dark hair was pulled out of his face, revealing an arrogant smile and malicious eyes.

The door slammed shut behind the strange, and he stalked over to the three. Naruto instinctively placed himself in front of Ino. The mistrust in the air was brutal. The stranger stopped in front of Gaara and – if it was possible – the air around the red-head got even frostier. The stranger chuckled. Naruto hated it.

"Gee, don't give a warm welcome for an old ally or anything, Gaara. You can't say you haven't missed me after all this time. What has it been: five years since that Arabia mission? You don't look as if you've aged a day! Still don't want to tell me your secret?"

Gaara was attentive his silence. He wasn't intimidated by the man's menacing aura in the slightest, his face remaining a mask of ice. The stranger glanced at Ino and Naruto then and turned away from Gaara, however the red-head's gaze remained upon him.

"This must be the new meat Huntress told me about," he said, looking at them in a way that made Naruto feel like dinner served on a silver platter. "I'm surprised you haven't torn them apart yet, Gaara. You guys must be going easy on them. Not a scratch or a bruise to be seen. That's got to change."

There wasn't a bone in Naruto's body that was telling him not to shoot the strange man. Nothing about him felt safe. And when Tayuya stepped into the shop a few moments later, the shocked disgust and contempt on her face confirmed his distrust. The man turned and grinned at the rain-soaked red-head in delight.

"Long time no see, Tayuya."

"Not long enough Kidomaru…you asshole."

* * *

_Call it what you want to / Call it just a game / Call it insane / All of these voices_

* * *

**A/N:** Alright, so I think I'm finally liking my story again. Even though none of the characters are in character; even though I haven't watched Naruto in years or have any clue what's canon right now; even though I can't imagine an romantic ItaSasu scene anymore for my life...I've finally managed to look at this story separately from the show. Especially Sasuke and Itachi, I treat them like my own characters with Naruto names. That's how I'm starting to get through it. I tried to give Naruto this chapter some of his typical cockiness that wasn't as malicious as the way he's been acting through the story by having him get all flustered with Gaara and writing Gaara was kind of refreshing. He's one of the few characters in the show that hasn't been spoiled by my former fangirling.

So yeah, the reunion wasn't as epic as I'm sure you're all hoping but, I wanted to keep it as simple and emotional as possible over, you know, physical. This chapter was kind of a review chapter - there was a lot of inner Sasuke monologue and stuff. That was the main goal of the chapter I think so, sorry if it bored you all.

I'm happy to inform you however that next chapter is the beginning of the climax, the beginning of all your questions being answered. :)

**NEXT CHAPTER:** Huntress unmasked and Sasuke receives and most unwelcome surprise visitor.

Review. See you next chapter. ;)

PS:...Shut up trolls. (Disregard if you're not an immature trolling idiot.)


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